From 70 kg laddoo to oximeter: BJP celebrates Modi's 70th b'day

BJP workers offered a 70-kilogram laddu to Lord Shiva at Sivan Kamatchi Amman Temple in Coimbatore

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 70 on Thursday, there has been an elaborate weeklong initiative during which the BJP's national President down to the level of an ordinary cadre in a gram panchayat, has been engaged in what the saffron party calls 'Seva Saptah'.

In Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore, BJP workers offered a 70-kg laddoo at Sri Kamatchi Amman Temple, following which it was distributed among the people. In Kerala, its state President K Surendran took part in a cleanliness drive in Kozhikode amid the state's rising political heat over police brutality whose visuals have gone viral, and the gold smuggling case.

Even though detected with coronavirus, BJP's Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi will attend an event on Thursday through video conferencing where tea vending cycles will be distributed at Delhi's Mahadev Road. Meanwhile, stuck in the national capital for the ongoing Parliament session, two deputies of Union Home Minister Amit Shah -- Nityanad Rai and G Kishan Reddy -- distributed clothes and essentials to sanitation workers of the NDMC.

And amid West Bengal's soaring political temperature over the suspicious deaths of BJP workers which the saffron party blames on the TMC, BJP state Vice President Pratap Banerjee kicked-off 'Seva Saptah' in the border town of Katwa. Recently, another state Vice President Raju Banerjee held a massive blood donation camp in Bhatpara, an area that has consistently seen violence between the BJP and the TMC.

Even in smaller states like Goa, the BJP's weeklong initiative was not lacking either in fervour or in attendance. For instance, Alina Saldanha, the MLA from Cortalim constituency, recently distributed pulse oximeter, sanitizers and face shields to schools in her constituency. Present were a horde of Mandal karyakartas.

Given that PM Modi turns 70 on Thursday, the number 70 has assumed significance. On Tuesday BJP President JP Nadda inaugurated an exhibition on Modi showcasing his 70 avatars -- 'Book worm' to 'wanderer'.

With I&B minister Prakash Javadekar by his side, Nadda said, "Since it is the 70th birthday of PM Modi, our state exhibitions are being told to have 70 slides, blood donations to take place in at least 70 places in the district and cleanliness drives to take place in at least 70 residential areas in each district."

However, PM Modi has no specific plans for elaborate celebrations, say sources.

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