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CAA roll-out, 1 job per family on BJP manifesto for Bengal
Kolkata The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday promised to implement the new citizenship law, ensure employment to one member of every family, set up modern hospitals, spend thousands of crores of rupees for development of infrastructure in Kolkata and other districts, and support farmers, fishermen, tribal people and backward classes if it comes to power after the eight-phase election beginning March 27
Kolkata The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday promised to implement the new citizenship law, ensure employment to one member of every family, set up modern hospitals, spend thousands of crores of rupees for development of infrastructure in Kolkata and other districts, and support farmers, fishermen, tribal people and backward classes if it comes to power after the eight-phase election beginning March 27.
The promises were made in the BJP’s election manifesto called its “sankalp patra” which Union home minister Amit Shah released in Kolkata on Sunday evening.
“Once we are in power, the first meeting of our cabinet will announce the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act,” said Shah.
On February 11, Shah, while on a visit to Bengal, said the Centre will enforce the new citizenship law once vaccination across the country is over and the Covid-19 pandemic ends. He also said no Muslim will lose citizenship because of the law. Shah made the statement at an election rally at Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas district while addressing the Dalit Matua community which has demanded the law’s immediate implementation.
The fact that Shah released the document and spoke in Hindi triggered a sharp reaction from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) which has branded Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other central leaders of the BJP as “outsiders”.
“This speaks of the BJP’s bankruptcy. The party has no competent Bengali leader to release a document meant for the state. It is an insult to the people of Bengal,” said TMC Lok Sabha member Saugata Roy.
The 58-page document is divided in 13 parts with each focusing on women, farmers, health, the youth, governance, economic development, infrastructure, culture, tourism, social welfare schemes, regional development, Kolkata, and the environment.
Some portions of the BJP’s manifesto had striking similarities with the TMC’s document released on March 17. The TMC manifesto promised to generate 500,000 employment opportunities every year, provide annual financial aid of ₹10,000 per annum to farmers and monthly assistance of ₹500 to all women of the general category and ₹1,000 to women of the scheduled caste and tribe categories. It also promised credit of ₹10 lakh to students at a low interest rate of 4%.
In the BJP’s manifesto, there was special focus on women, with whom the document starts, and Bengali language and culture. The document also talks of a whistle-blower policy for unearthing corruption, three AIIMS-like hospitals in the north Bengal region where the BJP won seven of eight Lok Sabha seats in 2019, and a minimum wage of ₹350 for tea garden workers. The party promised to include the Hindu Mahishya and Tili communities in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, something the TMC has also done.
“Do not think whether it is possible to achieve these with the state’s budget. Experts have studied everything. All this will require 15% of the state’s budget. Don’t worry. I am a bania. I will not make promises without any calculation,” said Shah.
“Release of election manifestos was reduced to a formality years ago but the BJP changed that. We call this sonkolpo patro (document of oath). These are not mere announcements for us. This document is based on our dream to create Sonar Bangla (golden Bengal),” said Shah.
He spoke at length on the state’s rich heritage and contribution of great Bengalis to art, culture and history. While taking some of the names, Shah mentioned founders of two Dalit Hindu communities -- the Rajbanshis of north Bengal and the Matuas of south Bengal -- whose support is crucial for both the TMC and the BJP.
During his trip to Thakurnagar last month, Shah announced an array of sops for the Matuas who are a part of the backward Namasudra community that can influence poll results in around 80 of the state’s 294 assembly seats. The BJP has sworn to overthrow the TMC government by winning more than 200 seats.
“A resident of Gujarat with a resident of Madhya Pradesh by his (right) side, releases a manifesto and then makes a full speech in Hindi to create a #ShonarBangla #BengalElections2021,” Derek O’Brien, leader of the TMC in the Rajya Sabha, tweeted on Sunday evening, referring to Shah, who hails from Gujarat and BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya who comes from MP.
Some of the key promises in the manifesto are 33% reservation for women in government jobs, annual assistance of ₹10,000 to 1.8 million farmers, annual assistance of ₹6,000 and mechanised boats for fishermen, medical insurance under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, zero infiltration across the international border, assistance of ₹10,000 for five years for refugees, a literary award similar to the Nobel Prize and named after Tagore, a film award styled after the Oscars and named after Satyajit Ray, and a monthly pension of ₹3,000 for widows.
Political analyst and columnist Suvashis Maitra said, “If the BJP is capable of all this then it should tell people whether such projects have been implemented in Assam and Tripura. A lot of Bengalis live in these two states.”
