The BJP on Friday launched a website and a Twitter handle to seek suggestion for its manifesto for the next election even as it insisted that building a Ram temple, abrogation of Article 370 and a having uniform civil code were “non-negotiable”. The 2009 election manifesto, which was also prepared by a team headed by Murli Manohar Joshi, forms the basis for the new manifesto.
During the preparation of the document, the manifesto committee will visit States to seek feedback from organisations and individuals about issues that should figure in the party document.
This would be for the first time that a political party will use such a web-based platform to seek suggestion from the public to prepare its manifesto for a national election.
“The BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has called for the transformation of Representative Democracy into Participatory Democracy. As the first step towards your participation, we seek your suggestions and ideas to make our manifesto more meaningful and purposeful,” reads a message on the website www.bjpelectionmanifesto.com
Joshi said issues on which there is a groundswell of support on the website may be included in the manifesto. The party said it was open to incorporating other ideas on which there is an overwhelming support, the BJP leader said. “We are not a closed party. We are an open party,” Joshi said, adding that if there are better ideas on other issues they are “not fools” as to not look into them.
However, Joshi clarified that some issues are “non-negotiable” for the party and cannot be removed from the manifesto, irrespective of the feedback.
Enumerating them, the senior leader said, building a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya, scrapping Article 370 which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, imposing a Uniform Civil Code, cow protection, Ram Sethu, cleaning of the Ganga are dear to the party and there will no compromise on them.
Nor is the issue of changing the Prime Ministerial candidate. In reply to a question, Joshi said, “Narendra Modi is the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate and this decision is final. It will not be changed even after the elections,” Joshi said. The party will come out with its first draft of the manifesto by December.