New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) The BJP’s election manifesto released on Monday affirmed the party’s stand on national security, including the resolve to fight terrorism.
It also mentioned the core ideological issues, announced new pension schemes to counter the Congress’ “Nyay” thrust, and spoke about meeting the aspirations of the people in the next five years, reiterating that the Narendra Modi-led government had met the requirements in the last five years.
The manifesto set short-term targets to be achieved by 2022, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi also talked about laying the foundation for making India a developed country by 2047 when the country will celebrate the centenary of its Independence.
The manifesto mentioned almost all the issues associated with the party, including the construction of a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya, abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the Uniform Civil Code.
With the tagline “Sankalpit Bharat, Sashakt Bharat” (committed India, strong India), the BJP’s “Sankalp Patra” (manifesto) sought to reach out to all sections of people, including the farmers, small shopkeepers, youth, women, the middle class and the poor.
Reaching out to the poor, small farmers and small shopkeepers is crucial for the BJP in view of the Congress’ promise of providing annual minimum income support of Rs 72,000 to 20 per cent of the poorest families in the country if it is voted to power.
The Congress on Sunday unveiled its campaign slogan — “Ab Hoga Nyay” (Now, there will be justice). “Nyay” is incidentally the acronym of its minimum income guarantee scheme — Nyuntam Aay Yojana.
In its manifesto, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that it would seek to double farmers’ income by 2022, invest Rs 1 lakh crore in higher education, ensure housing for all and 100 per cent electrification in the next three years. It also promised to set up a National Traders Commission.
The party promised pension to the small farmers and small shopkeepers and said that the PM-KISAN scheme, which provides Rs 6,000 annual assistance to the small famers, will be extended to all the farmers.
After losing power in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh last year, the BJP has been making extra efforts to reach out to the farmers.
The manifesto said that when India will celebrate the 75th year of its Independence in 2022, the country would have fulfilled 75 goals related to agriculture, infrastructure, economy, governance and education, among others.
The 75 goals include the creation of 10,000 new farmer producer organisations, pension for small and marginal farmers above 60 years, digitisation of land records, toilets in every household, access to safe and potable drinking water, electrification of all railway tracks, establishment of 1.5 lakh health centres and improving Gross Domestic Product (GDP) share from the manufacturing sector.
The manifesto also talked about the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, over which the party faces opposition from almost all its allies in the Northeast. It said the BJP would enact the bill if it returns to power after the Lok Sabha elections.
The party also reiterated its commitment to the Triple Talaq Bill.
Declaring its aim to make India the third largest economy in the world by 2030, the BJP said it would promote investment-driven growth to build a “New India” and make it a $10 trillion economy by 2032.
The BJP leaders also highlighted the 2016 cross-border surgical strikes and the recent air strike in Balakot by the Indian Air Force (IAF) as examples of the government’s strong resolve against terrorism.
“Our new policy and new doctrine of striking terror in its origin has received global recognition,” Finance Minister Arun Jailtey said at the manifesto release function.
In his speech,
BJP President Amit Shah talked about the achievments of the Modi government in the last five years, including providing houses, toilets and gas connections to the people.
Taking a dig at the COngress, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that unlike other parties, which came up with “Ghoshna Patra”, the BJP has come out with a “Sankalp Patra”.
She also said that India’s prestige has gone up in the past five years in which Modi has been honoured with five prestigious awards, including the top civilian awards of the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
–IANS
ps/arm