To popularise budget, Modi suggests 'lunch pe charcha'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the BJP MPs to carry forward the "big message" of his government's 2018-19 Budget to the masses, by highlighting how it "delivers on promises."

Addressing the BJP parliamentary party on the last day of the first part of Parliament's budget session, Modi suggested they hold "lunch pe charcha" (discussion over lunch) in different villages of their constituencies to spread  its "good points" among people.

Modi recalled how he had held discussions with party cadres in his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi over lunch by bringing his own tiffin.

The PM had led his 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign by holding "chai pe charcjha" (discussion over tea) across the country.

He said if the BJP MPs took to popularising the Budget proposals, it would lead to their party winning in the next polls. Rejecting criticism of the Budget, the PM described the proposals as "positive" for the middle class and farmers.

Praising Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's reply in the Lok Sabha, Modi asked them to hold "mock" parliaments in various places to discuss the Budget.

Modi also heaped praise on BJP chief Amit Shah for his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha.

In his address, Shah described Congress president Rahul Gandhi's behaviour as "undemocratic" and suggested ways to counter his criticism of the Rafale fighter deal.

"Never before in the parliamentary history was a prime minister's reply to the president's address disrupted by the Oppositon," Shah said, referring to Congress' protests in the Lok Sabha well during Modi's over 90-minute speech on Wednesday.

Shah responded to a BJP MP who raised the issue of farmers linking it to the party's defeat in the Rajasthan by-polls. "Don't look  at Rajasthan defeat. See towards the victory that will be ours in 2019," Shah said.

At the meeting, two booklets containing the Prime Minister's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos and Shah's speech at various platforms were distributed among the MPs.

The booklet, with the title "Unbeatable Global Legend", contains articles published in around 25 global newspapers about Modi's speech at Davos. The booklet was prepared by party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.