Blend social reforms with political work: PM Modi

PM tells cadre not to focus only on vote banks

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday asked BJP members to draw inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi to blend social reforms with their political work instead of focusing on vote bank politics."When we look at Mahatma Gandhi's life, we see he fought against the British and led the freedom movement.

But he was also a great social reformer. He always worked against social evils.

We as political workers too should not merely focus on vote-bank politics and allow things to continue as they are. We must continue working for social reforms," he said.He was interacting virtually with participants of "Seva Yatra", a motorcyle rally from Varanasi to Vadnagar organised by BJP to mark his 76th birthday and his continuous stint of 25 years as head of govt.Modi drew from his own experience as a frequent traveller across the length and breadth of India and said it has deeply enriched his life and values. "The message of service should be spread not merely by our words but action," he said, highlighting the felicitation of sanitation workers and other service-oriented programmes to make his point. Serving people is serving the country, he said, adding that BJP ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay, whose birth anniversary fell on Friday, put serving people at the core of his ideology.

He praised those who carried out the cleanliness work in Prayagraj, noting that their efforts made the 'Kumbh Mela' famous worldwide for sanitation and elevated India's honour."So, I felt compelled to wash the feet of those who have enhanced India's honour so much, to seek their blessings," he said.Modi also said over the past 12 years, the gap between cities and villages in India has significantly narrowed and infrastructure in villages has improved to a great extent. He said self-reliance among women has also increased in the country.