NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday unveiled the third and final part of BJP’s Sankalp Patra (manifesto) for the Delhi assembly elections, promising benefits to a large cross-section of people, ranging from those living in unauthorised colonies, gig workers and construction labourers to media personnel and lawyers.
In a bid to outdo AAP, which has promised Rs 18,000 per month to priests of temples & gurdwaras, BJP’s manifesto promised Rs 20,000 for all temple priests. Shah also promised that the Centre would set up a fund for cleaning the Yamuna in three years. BJP has vowed to complete the process of giving ownership rights in 1,700 illegal colonies.
BJP’s promise: Accident cover and life insurance for gig workers and vendors
We are now assuring them rights for reconstruction and reselling their houses after obtaining ownership rights as per MoHUA guidelines and building bylaws,” said Shah.
Life insurance of Rs 10 lakh and accident insurance of Rs 5 lakh will be extended to gig workers, labourers, street vendors, textile workers and washermen. Their children will be given scholarships for higher education. Welfare boards will also be set up for all these categories.
Accredited journalists will get an accident insurance of Rs 10 lakh and life insurance of Rs 10 lakh. Lawyers will get a group insurance of up to Rs 10 lakh and their health and accident insurance amount will be increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
About 50,000 govt jobs and 20 lakh self-employment opportunities would be created for the youth and free Metro travel worth Rs 4,000 annually will be made available to needy students.
The party has pledged to create an integrated public transport network with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore, convert Delhi into a 100 per cent e-bus city with 13,000 electric buses and ensure completion of Delhi Metro’s Phase IV at the earliest, making the Metro and buses available 24×7.
Taking a dig at Kejriwal, the Union minister said the people of Delhi are waiting for his “world-famous” dip in the Yamuna which he had promised while assuring people that the river would be cleaned in seven years and developed like the Thames in London. Accusing Kejriwal of “lying” and not fulfilling his promises, Shah said “getting rid of liars and betrayers” is the biggest poll issue in Delhi. He suggested that Kejriwal should take a dip in the Ganga at Prayagraj where Maha Kumbh is currently under way and cleanse himself of his sins.
Shah gave an assurance that no welfare schemes for the poor would be stopped if BJP came to office. AAP has been warning people about such a possibility if the saffron party was elected.
He said that after coming to office, BJP will develop a grand ‘Mahabharat’ corridor to promote and publicise the famous epic in partnership with the govts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
He remarked, “We consider elections as a medium of public connect; we go amid people to know their expectations. Without taking the name of other parties, I want to say that for BJP, Sankalp Patra is a matter of trust and it is a list of works to be done. They are not just promises made on paper. Since 2014, PM Modi has established politics of performance and the BJP in its three Lok Sabha elections has made every endeavour to fulfil its promises made in the manifesto.”
He announced that the party would implement PM Modi’s primary healthcare initiative, Ayushman Bharat, in the first cabinet meeting.
Transforming Delhi into a 100% e-bus city by increasing the number of e-buses to 13,000 to improve connectivity along with a Rs 20,000 crore investment to build an integrated public transport network are among announcements made to improve the transport system.
Upgrading of all bus depots and terminals, developing the Delhi-Panipat and Delhi-Alwar Namo Rail, quick construction of ISBTs at Narela and Dwarka, overnight Metro services at appropriate frequencies and an infrastructure overhaul scheme for roads, flyovers, and FOBs have also been promised.
Significantly, Shah also promised to end manual scavenging by 100%.
Portraying Kejriwal as a liar, Shah said: “He said he would not take govt accommodation but shifted into a Rs 51-crore bungalow, sheesh mahal, constructed after merging four bungalows.” He said Kejriwal had contradicted his own statements by establishing liquor outlets near educational institutions, temples and gurdwaras. “He said he would close down liquor stores in residential areas. Instead, there was a liquor scam worth thousands of crores and it was done by their education minister Manish Sisodia. This was unprecedented… When Kejriwal was in jail, he did not resign on moral grounds but proudly stayed as the CM inside the prison,” he said.
Turning to mohalla clinics, he claimed these had no doctors or medicines and are used for performing fake medical tests.
“They don’t make promises less than world-class,” Shah taunted AAP. “They had promised to develop a sports university, 47 fast-track courts and a world-class drainage system. Nothing has happened.” He said corruption had reached an all-time high with scams reported in DJB, ration cards, DTC buses, construction of school classrooms and installation of panic buttons and CCTVs.
