Modi also said India will fight, live, work and win as one and nobody can create hurdles in its march towards development. He also added that it is necessary to ensure that nothing is done to dent the morale of the security forces.
Earlier, in his tweets, Modi had asked them to donate to the saffron party and boost its morale. "On 28th February, I look forward to interacting with crores of Karyakartas (party workers), spread across more than 15,000 locations," Modi said, adding that the hardworking workers were the biggest asset of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
On Thursday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to postpone his mega video-conference with BJP workers, saying the nation's energy must be spent on getting the IAF pilot back from Pakistan's custody. In a tweet, Kejriwal also asked the prime minister to "sternly" deal with Pakistan.
"I wud urge the PM to postpone this. At this moment, we as a nation, need to spend all our energies and time to get the IAF pilot back safely andto sternly deal wid Pak (sic)," he wrote on the microblogging site while the sharing BJP's announcement of the programme on Twitter.
Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav also lashed out at the BJP for going ahead with Modi's address to party workers. In a tweet, the SP chief said, "When the entire nation is standing along with the government as an Indian rising above politics, BJP is going to make a record of contact with booth level workers ..even the BJP supporters are ashamed of this. The situation could be very bad but this suited-booted BJP will continue with its festivities...condemnable."
The Congress alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "misplaced priorities" and that he was "desperate only for re-election". The party's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, in a tweet, alleged that the prime minister was "hell-bent on creating a video conference record" when the entire country was praying for return of its braveheart pilot.
Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh on Wednesday had taken a dig at the BJP and Prime Minister Modi for the mega video-conference amid heightened tensions with Pakistan.
"Entire Opposition is concerned over national security. (Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal postponed his hunger strike over full-statehood issue. Congress cancelled its CWC and the Opposition is worrying about unity of the nation. Modi-ji is getting down to strengthen polling booths and the BJP is busy with election rallies," Singh had tweeted.
The Rajya Sabha MP's response came to a tweet by the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about the event to be held on Thursday. It said party chief Amit Shah and other leaders would participate in the programme at the Delhi BJP office here.
An IAF pilot was captured by Pakistan after an air combat Wednesday during which the two sides said they shot down each other's warplanes that followed an unsuccessful attempt to target Indian military installations in retaliatory strikes that sparked fears of war.