In a bid to woo Non-Resident Indians, the BJP organised a global meet on Monday, a day before the government’s official Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas, its annual jamboree for Indians living abroad.
The saffron party’s meet for Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) was attended by over 180 NRIs from over 25 countries.
Senior party leaders such as BJP president Rajnath Singh, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitely, patriarch Lal Krishna Advani and senior leader M. Venkaiyah Naidu addressed the meet and met NRIs.
Singh said that if BJP comes to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, his party would facilitate more FDI by NRIs in India.
“Indian diaspora was the second largest in the world after the Chinese but its contribution to FDI was a modest 10 to 15 per cent.
“You should cooperate in the formation of a BJP government and we will create conditions that your contribution to the FDI in the country will go up to 35-40 per cent,” Singh said.
Among those who attended the event were former Fiji Prime Minister Mahender Choudhry and England-based Lord Rajinder Paul Loomba.
Referring to the recent Assembly polls in which Congress lost in four out of five states, Advani claimed that the BJP will get a clear majority in Lok Sabha elections.
The NRIs took time out from their busy schedules to support the BJP and said they would come to India to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“BJP leaders keep coming to the US and meet us. We hold regular meetings in New Jersey. This is my second trip to India in the past few months. We have 21 chapters in the US in 21 cities supporting the BJP,” said Jayesh H. Patel, a civil engineer in the US.
Another NRI Reena Pushkarna, an executive from Israel, said: “India needs change. The BJP has called us here as family members.
“When something good happens in India, it directly or indirectly affects Indians living abroad. If India succeeds in something, Indians residing in other countries get respect and looked upon in a respectable manner outside too,” said Pushkarna.
