Amit Shah meets Army ex-chief Dalbir Singh Suhag as part of BJP's outreach

Launching his party's massive outreach programme, Sampark for Samarthan (outreach for support), BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday met former Army chief Dalbir Singh Suhag and former Lok Sabha Secretary General and constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap. Shah is likely to personally meet at least 50 people of stature during this campaign. The BJP, in a statement, said its 4,000 functionaries, including chief ministers, Union ministers, down to panchayat members, across the country will contact one lakh people, who are recognised names in their fields, to inform them about the government's achievements.

The former army chief and the BJP president discussed various issues, including the problems faced by Indian farmers in villages and the plight of India villagers. Shah said he briefed both General Singh and Kashyap about the work done and historic initiatives undertaken by Modi government. "During this campaign we will inform people the achievements of the government and work to be undertaken in the fifth year of the government. We will explain to them measures taken by the government to uplift the poor," Shah told reporters after the meeting. He said party workers visiting the personalities of stature have been provided with pamphlets and pen-drives to explain the government initiatives. They will also reach to every household in the country.

The meeting with General Suhag has not gone down well with the Opposition parties. They described it an attempt to politicise armed forces. Senior Congress leader Maneesh Tiwari tweeted: "These are extremely portentous conventions that BJP is laying down. Using armed forces as a surrogate prop for political ends will have profound implications on Civil-Military relations & the carefully nurtured & assiduously cultivated Military traditions of the past 70 years."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday kickstarted a "special kind" of mass outreach where the beneficiaries of various government schemes like Ujjwala Yojana at various levels interacted with him. On Tuesday, he interacted with the beneficiaries of the Mudra Yozana scheme.

The party has launched the programme to mark the fourth anniversary of the Modi government as it prepares for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. BJP sources said the central leadership has directed each party worker to contact at least 10 people and brief them about government schemes and take feedback.

Prime Minister Modi has also launched a survey on his NaMo app, asking people to rate the performance of the BJP-led government, "It is your voice that counts! Tell me what you feel about the working of the central government, its initiatives and the development work in your constituency. Take part in this survey on the NaMo app," Modi tweeted on May 26.