With focus on farmers, law and order, corruption and preventing migration of strife-torn people from urban areas, BJP president Amit Shah released party’s manifesto in lucknow on Saturday. The BJP promised waiver of crop loans of small and marginal farmers, taken from banks, including district cooperatives. The BJP also promised to make concerted efforts to get Ram temple built in Ayodhya “under constitutional provisions”.
The manifesto named as “lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra” (Pledge for People’s Welfare) also promises to provide interest-free crop loan to small and marginal farmers, who constitute over 90 per cent of agriculture land holders in the State.
The manifesto’s punch line resembles that of the 1991 Assembly elections with key lines being “gunda-mukt Uttar Pradesh, bhrashtachar-mukt Uttar Pradesh (goons-free and corruption-free UP)”.
Besides the Ram temple, the BJP also brought up issues like triple talaq and exodus of people on communal lines in its 24-page manifesto, even as it promised to close down all illegal slaughter houses in the State after coming to power.
The party also promised to create a Dr BR Ambedkar scholarship fund of Rs 500 crore to help poor students pursue higher studies. Shah said if the BJP comes to power, the State Government will move the Supreme Court as a party in “triple talaq” case concerning Muslim women. “The party will first elicit views of Muslim women on this issue and file an affidavit in the apex court accordingly,’’ said Shah.
The BJP chief said the demographic change in west UP towns due to communal tension is a serious matter and the BJP will bring out a White Paper on the migration of population due to strife in Kairana. “The BJP had demanded from Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to bring out a White Paper on migration from Kairana in 2016, but the State Government chose to ignore the demand. If the BJP comes to power, the then DMs would be held accountable for migration, a special police cell will be created, and a Deputy Collector will be posted to prevent migration,’’ said the BJP chief.
Shah said in each district Special Task Force (STF) will be set up to rein in land mafia, and public and private land will be freed from illegal possession. He said the STF will also be set up to probe cases of corruption in the past 15 years of the SP and BSP rules. He said another STF will be set up to eliminate the mining mafia and all those involved in illegal business will be brought to justice.
“A state of anarchy prevails in UP. The common man has been deprived of fundamental rights to life. Crime against women, free run of land and mining mafia, patronage to criminals by the ruling party has emboldened the mafia to the extent that they are targeting police and the Government is helpless,’’ charged Shah.
Promising to end appeasement on caste and communal lines in recruitment and appointment to important public offices, the BJP chief said that all vacant 1.5 lakh posts in UP Police will be filled as per the procedures without discrimination on grounds of caste and religion. “The SP regime indulged in scams in recruitment with impunity and the Allahabad High Court intervened, resulting in the removal of Chairman of UP Public Service Commission,” Shah said.
For the farm sector, the BJP manifesto envisaged an ambitious promise for setting up a “Chief Ministers Irrigation Fund” of Rs 20,000 crore, besides expediting projects under Accelerated Irrigation Benefit programme for completion of pending projects like Ban Sagar canal, Madhya Ganga canal and Arjun Sahayak projects.