New Delhi:The BJP released the second part of its election manifesto titled ‘Sankalp Patra’ on Tuesday targeting the AAP’s youth electorate base. The saffron party promised a one-time assistance of `15,000 for competitive exam aspirants and reimbursement of two-time travel and application fees and free education for needy students from KG to PG in government institutions. The BJP also assured `10 lakh insurance and `5 lakh accident cover for domestic helps and auto-taxi drivers.
Ahead of the February 5 Assembly polls, political parties are jostling to corner youth, domestic workers and auto-taxi drivers after reaching out to the slum clusters and women voters. The three rival parties -- the BJP, AAP and Congress -- have rained poll sops in their bid to woo various sections of the society. The manifestos of the three parties are seeking to outdo each other in terms of commitments to the electorates.
The BJP’s announcement, however, drew sharp criticism from AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal who described the manifesto as “dangerous for the country” and accused the BJP of revealing its “true intentions”. He alleged that the BJP plans to shut free education in government schools and dismantle free health services including the mohalla clinics if voted to power.
Launching the second part of the BJP’s Sankalp Patra, former Union minister Anurag Thakur said a special investigation team (SIT) will be formed to probe all “irregularities and scams” of the AAP government if the party comes to power in Delhi.
Thakur assured that its government in Delhi would launch ‘Dr BR Ambedkar Stipend Yojna’ to provide `1,000 monthly aid to Scheduled Caste students at polytechnic and skill centers.
The BJP leader promised to implement the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme without middlemen. The scheme entails direct transfer of financial benefits to the beneficiaries.
“In the last 10 years, the BJP government had eliminated middlemen and implemented public welfare schemes through DBT. Modi government’s policy towards corruption is zero tolerance,” he asserted.
He said once the BJP government is formed in the National Capital Territory (NCT), steps will be taken to form welfare boards for domestic workers and auto-taxi drivers. The boards will provide `10 lakh insurance and `5 lakh accident cover and offer scholarships to the children of domestic workers and auto-taxi drivers. He also promised six months’ paid maternity leave for the women domestic workers.
Under the PM SVANidhi scheme for street vendors, the number of beneficiaries will be doubled, he said, citing the Sankalp Patra-2.
Thakur alleged that the AAP government had failed to implement the Jal Jeevan Mission, reiterating the BJP’s commitment to improve infrastructure and welfare if voted to power.
“Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, water comes from taps even at 17,000 feet in the mountains but the AAP-da (AAP) government did not implement it in Delhi,” he claimed.
“Once our government is formed, we will solve problems related to health, traffic, electricity, water and transport etc. We will try to give a better today and a better tomorrow to the people of Delhi,” Thakur said quoting the Sankalp Patra.
The first part of the BJP’s manifesto was released by the party’s national president J.P. Nadda last week. The party has already promised `2,500 per month to Delhi women under the ‘Mahila Samriddhi Yojna’ and assured that all public welfare schemes of the outgoing AAP government will continue in the future.