India's G20 presidency 'a MATTER of PRIDE' for all Indians: PM Narendra Modi tells BJP office-bearers

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that India's G20 presidency “is a matter of pride for all citizens” and it is an occasion to establish global Indianness and its culture. PM Modi made these remarks while addressing a key meeting of BJP leaders from across the country during which he asked party members to maintain direct connect with border villagers and said they should be developed as places that draw visitors.

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh briefed reporters on the meeting and PM Modi's closed-door address. The Prime Minister inaugurated the BJP's national office-bearer's meeting and said there is an acknowledgment worldwide of the country's emergence as an economic power amid global challenges like the Ukraine war and the Covid pandemic.

He also lauded the "Kashi Tamil Sangamam", a month-long event going on in Varanasi that celebrates ancient cultural ties between the two places. PM Modi said "sneh milan", an idea he had first voiced during the party's national executive meeting in Hyderabad, programmes should be promoted for cultural exchanges as being seen in Kashi, an ancient name of Varanasi.

Singh said the two-day meeting will discuss various topical issues and also upcoming state elections. Party leaders are deliberating on further strengthening its presence at booths. Besides its national office-bearers, presidents and general secretaries (organisation) of the BJP's state units are also part of the meeting chaired by the party's national president J P Nadda.

The party's future strategy, preparations for the next round of state assembly polls and various ongoing organisational activities will be discussed in the meeting which is also serving as a stock-taking exercise for leaders who are engaged in organisational works round the year, party sources have said.

Various groups of leaders, including Union ministers, have also been roped in to further strengthen the party's presence, especially in places where it lost in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and is eying victory in 2024.

Some electorally important states, including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, besides Tripura and Chhattisgarh, are scheduled to have assembly polls ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.