BJP poll manifesto in J'khand promises mobile handset to farmers, job for every BPL family

Union minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday released the party's manifesto for Jharkhand polls, promising a slew of measures for the farmers, including a loan of up to Rs 3 lakh with easy repayment options and a mobile handset. The saffron 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. Every student of Classes 9 and 10 will receive Rs 2,200 and that of Classes 11 and 12 Rs 7,500 as scholarships, said the manifesto, which was released by Prasad  in the presence of Jharkhan Chief Minister Raghubar Das, Union Tribal Minister Arjun Munda and BJPs state unit president Laxman Gilua.

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Contending that the incumbent BJP government has already given a bonus of Rs 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. It also promised to provide Rs 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 Rs 3 lakh with easy repayment options. The loan limit of cooperative committees will be hiked to Rs 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. On education, the manifesto promised to construct 70 new Eklayva Model Residential Schools.

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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, it claimed. The vision document further assured to sanction a loan of up to Rs 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 Paramveer 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 Rs 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. The ruling party 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. The document also assured a loan of up to Rs 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 Rs 1 lakh and Rs 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. It also pledged welfare measures for the unorganized 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). The saffron party's ally in the state, the AJSU Party, had separately announced its manifesto last week. Opposition Congress and the JMM have also released their separate vision documents over the past week. Assembly elections will be held in Jharkhand in five phases, beginning November 30. Counting of voted will be held on December 23.

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