BJP believes in nation first, opposition in self-interest first: Nitin Nabin

Patna (PTI): BJP president Nitin Nabin on Monday said his party believes that the nation comes first, the organisation comes second, and self last, but for the opposition, "self-interest is the first and the last thing".

Addressing a function organised by the state BJP upon his first visit to his hometown after being catapulted to the party's top post, Nabin said BJP workers helped uproot 'jungle raj' from Bihar, fighting it out during times when even distributing pamphlets was fraught with danger.

"That spirit of sacrifice continues. I have got the opportunity to visit states like Kerala and West Bengal, where party workers are making sacrifices, without worrying about what they are going to get in return. BJP is a party that believes the nation comes first, the party comes second, and the self comes last. For our opponents, self-interest is the first and the last thing," he alleged.

Nabin, who has become the party's national president at 45, assured BJP workers, "We have a strong watch tower. A booth-level worker can rest assured that his work will be taken note of and he may rise to become the state unit chief, even the national president. I stand before you as an example".

"I would like to tell our young workers not to get despondent if sometimes things do not happen to their liking. They can rest assured of better days for themselves. The party has so far seen horizontal growth. In the days to come, there will be a vertical growth of workers," he said.

The Bankipur MLA, who was a minister in Bihar till being appointed as the working president in December, also underscored the vital role to be played by his party in his home state, saying, "If you all perform well, I shall get the credit, and if you fail, the blame shall fall on me. The state shall play a key role in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of a Viksit Bharat by 2047”.

He asserted that PM Modi looked at the country's 140 crore people as "assets", unlike "a Prime Minister of the Congress" for whom 40 crore Indians were "a challenge".

"You all must have listened to the speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament recently. It highlighted the fact that in contrast with a Prime Minister of the Congress, who saw 40 crore Indians as a challenge, Modi views 140 crore countrymen as assets," he said.