CAA, free education for girls, reservation for women – BJP issues Bengal manifesto

Implementation of the CAA, citizenship for refugees who have lived in Bengal for 70 years, ₹10,000 per year for five years for each refugee family – these are some of the promises that the BJP has made in its election manifesto in West Bengal.

The ‘Sankalp Patra’ released by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday also promises free education for girls from kindergarten to postgraduate level and 33 per cent reservation for them in state government jobs.

The BJP has also promised to take a tough line on “infiltrators”. “We have decided that no infiltrators will be allowed in Bengal and border fencing will be strengthened,” Shah said.

He added: “Three new AIIMS hospitals will be built in North Bengal, Jangalmahal and Sundarban so that locals don’t have to travel to Kolkata to avail healthcare facilities. We will also start a common eligibility tst for all state government jobs to keep a check on corruption.”

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“Continuing with the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, ₹18,000, which Mamata didi didn’t give to farmers for three years, would be transferred to 75 lakh farmers’ bank accounts without any cut.”

Shah called the manifesto “a resolution letter for West Bengal by the country’s largest party”.

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Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed an election rally in West Bengal’s Bankura district, and said “Didi” – Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – “will go on May 2”.

“We won’t let her kick out development in Bengal. ‘Asol paribartan’ [real change] will come to ensure that the benefits of central schemes reach the poor. We will also ensure that extortion, syndicate raj and corruption come to an end,” Modi said.