BJP’s J'khand poll manifesto vows phones to farmers, job for every BPL family

Union minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday (November 27) released the Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifesto for Jharkhand polls, promising a slew of measures for the farmers, including a loan of up to ₹3 lakh with easy repayment options and a mobile handset.

The party also pledged job for at least one member of every below-poverty-line (BPL) family, if re-elected to power in the state. It assured to provide financial assistance to school students hailing from backward and poor families.

Scholarships for students

Every student of Classes 9 and 10 will receive ₹2,200 and that of Classes 11 and 12 ₹7,500 as scholarships, said the manifesto, which was released by Prasad here, in the presence of Chief Minister Raghubar Das, Union tribal minister Arjun Munda and BJP’s state unit president Laxman Gilua. The manifesto also promised to construct 70 new Eklayva Model Residential Schools.

Doles for farmers

Contending that the incumbent BJP government has already given a bonus of ₹185 per quintal of paddy, in addition to the existing minimum support price, the vision document said farmers would be given mobile handsets under e-NAM – an online trading platform for agro commodities.

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It also promised to provide ₹5,000 to maximum number of farmers every year under the states Mukhya Mantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana. All farmers will be given loan of up to ₹3 lakh with easy repayment options. The loan limit of cooperative committees will be hiked to ₹200 crore, the document said. The party, if voted to power again, would send a total of 5,000 farmers to foreign countries to study and learn about the modern farming technologies, it said.

Tribal outreach

A Jharkhand Tribal Empowerment Institution will be set up in the state to address the problems faced by tribal people and welfare schemes will be initiated to uplift their standard of living. A National Tribal University will come up in Jharkhand in the next five years to encourage higher education among them, it claimed.

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The vision document further assured to sanction a loan of up to ₹5 lakh for tribals opting for self-employment. The party, if voted to power, would mark December 3, 2021 as the 50th Martyr Day of Albert Ekka, who was conferred Param Vir Chakra posthumously after the 1971 war of liberation, it asserted. In an effort to preserve and promote tribal art and languages, the BJP said it would provide a one-time grant of ₹50,000 to researchers. The saffron party vowed to take effective steps to end the menace of human trafficking. Trafficking rackets often lure youth from the remote areas of the state to metropolitan cities and even abroad on the pretext of giving them jobs.

Employment for youth

The manifesto pledged to create job opportunities for the local youth. A total of 20 lakh youth will be trained in the next five years to make them job-ready. The existing 44 employment exchanges in the states will be turned into model career centres, it said.

Funds to help tribal women

The document also assured a loan of up to ₹5 lakh for tribal women running self-help groups. In the next five years, one lakh sakhi mandal (centre for welfare of women) will come up in the state. Women will receive aid between ₹1 lakh and ₹5 lakh to set up start-ups, it insisted. With an aim to promote sports ahead of 2024 Olympics, the manifesto said Rajya Krida Pratibha Sampnah Mission would be set up for talented individuals.

Welfare measures

It also pledged welfare measures for the unorganised labour force, the elderly and the differently abled, government employees, the retired army personnel, drivers of auto-rickshaws, trucks, e-rickshaws and taxis, and safai karmacharis (sanitation workers).