BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi started his event, Chai Pe Charcha at 6:30 pm on Wednesday. Modi spoke on a variety of issues including transporatation problems, bad governance, India's educational system among other issues. The theme of the event was 'Good Governance'.
The event was hosted on YouTube instead of Google Hangout where Modi's earlier events took place. The event is being conducted across 1000 locations in 300 cities in India. People flocked to the venue's to question Modi over, Chai Pe Charcha debate.
On being questioned about how BJP was able to pull out such a huge online campaign and live-streaming across venues, Modi credited the IT cell that comprised of youth who left their jobs to volunteer and strengthen BJP's technical know-how. He said, "Youth came from diverse backgrounds and worked with BJP for two years providing expertise in IT sector, hence we were able to connect with citizens on ground-level."
People can participate in #ChaipeCharcha events by submitting their details on http://indiancag.org/ and selecting the mode of participation (online/on-ground).
The map that contained details of Chai pe charcha venues sadly had less number of centres in Jammu and Kashmir.
On the educational front, when asked about bad rankings of Indian universities as compared to foreign varsities, Modi said, "India needs to focus on research aspects and improve the quality of universities. Research should be the prime focus aspect as universities need to provide insights that can help in good governance".
Also, in terms of innovation, Modi said, "People all over India who have not entered the educational fray innovate on a daily basis. We need subjectwise web portals where these achievements can be compiled and published."
Taking a cue from US, Modi spoke about the problem of terrorism, "Post-9/11, US strenghtened their security measures and all other countries followed suit. India needs to work on this aspect and get stricter policies. Also, we need to make optimum use of technology to curb terrorism at ground level."
Modi said that India has a good railway network but improvements are mandatory for growth and trade. He added, "We need to upgrade our transport facilities with the help of research wings, technician support and usher in an era of development."
At the end Modi said, "Don't believe in those who show you dreams but those who actually work to turn those dreams into reality."
The entire programme was handled by an NGO called CAG (Citizen for Accountable Governance) and the logistics included basic technical stuff like Laptop, Dong-bell and projector.
"We took about 15 days to set up the logistics and spread information through different platforms online and offline", says Rohit KV, Joint convenor of BJP IT cell.
On being questioned about the shift in platforms from Google Hangouts to YouTube, Rohit says, "When the earlier interaction with Modi was conducted on Google Hangouts, the amount of followers was half of what it is today. Plus, Hangouts limit the amount of interactions one can have. But YouTube is efficient, easy and powerful for such a nationwide event and hence we shifted platforms."
The event was conducted across tea stalls across the country by volunteers and BJP workers.
Another BJP representative, Sanjay Agarwal added, "It's an era of technology and we need to embrace it. A combination of technology and good leadership to reach grass-root level and seek out governance issues is what Chai pe Charcha all about".
The backdrop:
- Gujarat Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will on Wednesday kickstart Chai pe charcha with NaMo campaign in Ahmedabad.
- With this campaign, Modi aims at connecting with the common people over a cup of tea.
- In a bid to cash in on the "chaiwala" jibe, Modi will visit a tea stall and interact with common people over the brew through DTH, satellite service and social media.
- The subject for today's "Chai pe charcha" is good governance, reports PTI.
- The programme will be relayed at 1,000 tea stall locations identified by the BJP in 300 cities across the country, including 61 locations in 22 cities and towns in Gujarat, via video conferencing.
"Of these 1,000 locations, direct interaction will take place with people from 30 locations in which people can share, ask and and suggest their views on the ongoing election campaign," BJP spokesperson Harshad Patel said.
- The campaign strategy stems from Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's remark on humble beginnings of Modi as a tea vendor.
- Turning the taunt to Modi's advantage, BJP poll managers have decided to use Modi's background to reach out to the maximum number of voters by inviting them to talk to the leader as part of the initiative.
- When he was young, Modi used to help his father sell tea at Vadnagar railway station and also on trains.
- Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal had earlier made similar remarks against Modi, saying a person who used to sell tea cannot have a national perspective.
- In a bid to temper the damage caused by Aiyer's remark, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi recently said "every tea seller, every labourer should be respected, but he who makes fool of people should not be respected".
Salient features of #ChaiPeCharcha:
- The Gujarat chief minister will use what is being pegged as "a unique combination of satellite, DTH, internet and mobile," for his chai pe charcha, a mega outreach programme which is part of his campaign for general elections due by May.
- The programme will be relayed at 1,000 tea stalls in 300 cities across the country.
- Of the 1,000 locations, he will directly interact with people at 30 locations; here people can share their views, ask questions and make suggestions on the BJP's election campaign through video-conference.
- The organisers have opened their website for questions that people want to ask the BJP's prime ministerial candidate at tea on Wednesday. Five participants will be picked from among those to pose their questions to Modi, who will interact with people from a tea stall in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
- The subject for today's chai pe charcha is good governance.
- 61 locations have been chosen all over Gujarat, 36 in Bihar, 32 in Kerala and 46 in Delhi among other states.
- BJP managers say it is an out-of-the-box initiative, that bucks traditional campaigning methods by facilitating discussion simultaneously in multiple locations.
- The BJP will hold between 12 and 15 such sessions, with other top leaders also engaging with the public over tea.
- The programme, which highlights that Mr Modi sold tea on trains as a young boy, is positioned as a gigantic snub to political rivals like the Congress' Mani Shankar Aiyar, who have made snide remarks about the Gujarat Chief Minister's modest origins.
- Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi recently said "every tea-seller, every labourer should be respected, but he who makes a fool of people should not be respected."
Future events:
The next 'Chai Pe Charcha' will be on the issue of women empowerment.
There are many issues mentioned on the website that citizens have to select:
Supply of drinking water at home
Supply of electricity
Conditions of road
Law and order situation
Education facilities for students
Medical facilities
Safety for women
Availability of Affordable housing
Employment Opportunities
Others (Please Specify)
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