Demonetisation and surgical strike dominate BJP meet ahead of assembly polls

New Delhi: Demonetisation and the surgical strike against terrorists in Pakistani territory will be the two major planks for the BJP in the assembly polls in five states. On the inaugural of the BJP's National Executive meeting here, party President Amit Shah spoke at length on the twin issues and told leaders to harp on the benefits of both demonetisation and the surgical strike. The Bharatiya Janata Party is determined to end its long exile from power in Uttar Pradesh to return to power in the country's most populous state. The staggered polls in Goa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur begin on February 4. Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the army's attack on militant camps across the Line of Control, Shah said the government may repeat such an action in its war against terror. He said the September 29 strike reflected New Delhi's "zero tolerance" for terror and warned of further "out of the box" action if Islamabad persisted with its policy of sending terrorists to India. Shah said the surgical strike and the November 8 demonetisation of high value currency had left the opposition with no campaign issues. While harping on the benefits of demonetisation including the ability to spend more on development, Shah detailed the BJP's showing in the various elections since the demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. He said the note ban had adversely affected corruption, terror funding and fake currency smuggling. He said it compelled a fake note smuggler in Pakistan to commit suicide. Asserting the despite hardships, people overwhelmingly supported the currency spike, Shah said the BJP was confident of taking power in all the five states. Shah instructed party activists to build on Modi's "pro-poor" image. On the second and concluding day of the party meeting on Saturday, Modi is expected to talk about the twin issues. A separate session on demonetisation will be held at the venue.