The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its manifesto for the Uttarakhand state assembly elections ahead of polling on February 14. The party unveiled its manifesto for Uttar Pradesh a few days ago.
Let us have a look at its key features:
Key beneficiaries:
- Poor farmers would receive ₹6,000 per year, in addition to what they were already getting under the PM-Kisan scheme. It would be paid in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 each.
- The jail term would be increased to 10 years under the state’s anti-conversion law or ‘Love Jihad’. According to India Today, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “We will amend the law of ‘Love Jihad’ to make it stricter, including a provision of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. We will create 50,000 government jobs for young people.” BJP often uses this term to describe illegal or forced conversions.
- Three LPG cylinders would be provided to the needy each year.
- Pregnant women living in hilly areas would be given ₹40,000.
- Senior citizens’ pensions would be increased to ₹3,600.
- The total aid received by farmers would go up to ₹12,000 annually, as mentioned by manifesto committee coordinator and former chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
- Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari promises ₹2,000 per month to women heads of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
- An additional ₹1,000 would be offered to take care of their children.
- In addition to this, the manifesto also emphasizes employment generation, empowerment of women, infrastructure development, tourism, putting an end to illegal migration, farmers, horticulture and dairy development.
- Another critical point that the document mentions is that a separate committee would be set up to investigate and look into the demographic changes in the state’s hilly district.
- A fund of ₹500 crore would be set up for women self-help groups.
- Separate funds of ₹500 crore each would be set up for horticulture and dairy development.
- Under the ‘Him Prahari Yojna’, the document also promises to settle ex-servicemen in the border districts of the state.
- In addition, a credit guarantee fund trust would be enabled for these servicemen.
- The government plans to develop Haridwar into the international Yoga Capital of the world, and infrastructure in the Chardham circuit to be upgraded and expanded.
- Forty-five new tourism hotspots would be developed in the state, promising it as the top tourist destination in the country.
- The issue of illegal land grabbing would be curtailed, and a policy of zero-tolerance toward drugs would be adopted.
Party’s Vision
Speaking on the manifesto, Gadkari said that it is true to the three essential pillars of the party, namely Ethics, Economic, Ecology and environment and was introduced to work on these issues.
The party mentioned that the document is based on the suggestions received from the voters belonging to 70 constituencies and is in touch with the people’s aspirations.
“Not a single section of the society has been left out of the vision document, which has been tailored according to the visions of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who created it, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wants it to develop as a leading state in the country when it celebrates 25 years of its existence,” PTI quoted Gadkari as saying.
