New Delhi, April 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed gratitude to founding members, leaders, workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the party's 40th foundation day today. In his message, the Prime Minister appealed to party workers to reaffirm the importance of social distancing, help those in need amid lockdown and enable India to overcome the COVID-19 outbreak. The BJP came into existence on this day in 1980 and Atal Bihari Vajpayee was elected as the founding president of the party. Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister lauded the efforts of all the party workers and extended his best wishes on this occasion. 

The Prime Minister extended greetings to all fellow BJP Karyakartas on the Sthapana Diwas of the party and paid tributes to all those who have toiled hard to build the party for decades. He said it is because of them that the BJP has got the opportunity to serve crores of Indians across our nation's length and breadth. He further added saying that the 40th foundation day of the BJP has come at a time when the country is fighting COVID-19 and urged party workers to follow guidelines and maintain social distancing.  BJP's 40th Foundation Day: Bharatiya Janata Party Expresses Gratitude to All its Founding Members and Leaders on the Special Day.

"Whenever BJP has got the opportunity to serve, the party has focused on good governance and empowering the poor. In line with the party's ethos, our Karyakartas have worked hard to bring a positive difference in the lives of many and done great social service. We mark our party's 40th anniversary when India is battling COVID-19. I appeal to BJP Karyakartas to follow the set of guidelines from our party president JP Nadda Ji, help those in need and reaffirm the importance of social distancing. Let's make India COVID-19 free," he added.

Here's are the tweets:

Earlier in the day, the BJP expressed its gratitude to its founding members and workers on this occasion. "On the foundation day of BJP, we express gratitude to our founding members, leaders and workers, whose hardwork has not only given it the pride of being the largest party in the world but it has become synonymous with Indian culture, nationalism and development-oriented politics," the party tweeted in Hindi.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 06, 2020 09:21 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).