The Opposition BJP in Rajasthan on Thursday promised to appoint a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the recruitment exam paper leaks and other cases of alleged corruption during the Congress regime. The party’s manifesto for the State Assembly election stated that strict action would be taken against all of those found guilty in the investigation.
BJP national president J.P. Nadda released the manifesto here in the presence of senior party leaders, including former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Mr. Nadda said the five years of Congress rule had witnessed an increase in crimes against women, corruption, insult to farmers, paper leaks and various scams.
Mr. Nadda said the election manifesto was a road map for development for the BJP, unlike other parties, which treated it as merely a formality. “We are committed to fulfilling each and every promise made in this document, which we have termed Sankalp Patra. Whatever we have said, we have done [in the past],” he said.
The manifesto identified fertilizer supply, midday meals, mining, houses in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission as the major subjects of scam during the Congress rule, which will be probed. A White Paper will also be brought to reveal all cases of corruption kept under wraps during the last five years.
LPG cylinders
The manifesto promised to provide LPG cylinders for ₹450 each to Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries, 2.5 lakh government jobs in five years and increasing financial assistance to farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi to ₹12,000 per year. The farmers are at present getting ₹6,000 a year under the scheme.
The manifesto also promised completion of the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP), which has generated considerable political heat following the Ashok Gehlot government’s demand for the national project status for it. The manifesto said the ERCP would be completed in a time-bound manner in collaboration with the Centre.
Mr. Nadda alleged that the agricultural land of 19,400 farmers in the State had been auctioned by the Congress government on their failure to repay the debt. He said the BJP, if elected to power, would bring a notification to stop the seizure and auction of farmers’ land and pay compensation to the agriculturists who had lost their land because of the “unjust action”.
Referring to the manifesto’s provisions for a slew of schemes for girls and women, the BJP chief said these measures would include savings bond of ₹2 lakh on birth of girlchild, skill training to 6 lakh rural women, scooty to meritorious girls on clearing class XII exam, free education up to the post-graduation level to the girls from poor families and an increase in financial assistance under the PM Matru Vandan Scheme from ₹5,000 to ₹8,000.
The manifesto also declared that the BJP was committed to making Rajasthan a 350-billion-dollar economy. Manifesto Committee’s convener and Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said suggestions from the people across all the 200 Assembly constituencies in digital and physical modes were obtained, followed by deliberations with various groups and professionals, to prepare a comprehensive manifesto.
