The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday revived its pet Hindutva themes of rebuilding the Ram temple at Ayodhya and abrogation of Article 370, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, as it released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in New Delhi on Friday.
The saffron party also promised to give 35 kg rice per month, at Rs two per kg, for families living below poverty line, to counter to the Congress' offer of rice at Rs three per kg. The BJP also promised to provide wheat at Rs 3.5 per kg.
The BJP manifesto comes after 11 years as the party had released the National Democratic Alliance's manifestos along with its coalition partners in 1999 and 2004. The BJP had then refrained from making any reference to the Ram temple issue, saying it remained on the party's agenda but was not a part of the NDA's national agenda for governance.
The party promised to enact strong laws, similar to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, to tackle terrorism. The BJP also sought to reach out to the armed forces, promising them exemption from income tax and the introduction of 'One Rank, One Pension' scheme.
They also promised a separate pay commission for the armed forces. In another populist promise, the party said it would raise the slab of tax exemption of the salaried class to Rs three lakh per annum.
For women, the limit would be Rs 3.5 lakh per annum. Reaching out to farmers, the BJP said it will waive off all current loans and provide fresh loans at four per cent interest rate.
The BJP also vowed that it would not allow any damage to the Ram Setu. The BJP manifesto pledged to remove all illegal immigrants residing in the country and complete the fencing of the India-Bangladesh border.
It also promised to curb foreign funds for outfits promoting separatist ideologies and get back black money stashed in tax havens. Addressing a press conference, senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said that it would be the party's endeavour to conduct the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections simultaneously.
Joshi, who was the head of the manifesto drafting committee, said that the party was in favour of smaller states and backed the separate state of Telengana. The BJP manifesto also promised promotion of alternative sources of energy with a focus on wind and solar energy.
Our Correspondent adds:
Ruling out any comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan, the BJP laid down five conditions to start talking peace again.
The demands are:
Actively engage in prosecuting terror elements and organisations; Put a permanent, verifiable end to its practice of using cross-border terrorism as an instrument of state policy; stop using the territory of third countries to launch terror
attacks on India; and hand over to India individuals wanted for committing crimes on Indian soil.
Stressing that no nation can have overriding powers over others in a multi-polar world, the BJP vows to have diplomacy with nations across the world on equal terms. Same principle of equality is stressed while talking about good relations of India with the United States.
It, however, makes it clear that "we will not compromise on either India's national interest or relations with another friendly country" and vows to restore the balance "disturbed" by the UPA government.
Without shedding tears on Nepal ceasing to be the only Hindu state in the world, the BJP wants to see it emerge as a stable, prosperous country and talks of strengthening age-old fraternal ties between India and Pakistan.
Nor does the manifesto chide Bangladesh for an illegal influx of its nationals in India, an issue that agitates it always, asking the government to throw out all the illegal Bangladeshis. Stressing that a friendly government in Dhaka is in India's interest, the manifesto says the BJP will "pro-actively engage the government of Bangladesh on issues of mutual assistance and benefit.
It says the Sri Lankan government has the right to deal with terrorism on its soil but it must protect political, economic and human rights of its Tamil minority community.
The party has quietly swallowed the bitter pill of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, not vowing in its election manifesto to renegotiate it as all its senior leaders had been declaring if elected to power.
Instead, it seeks to put on the statute a provision to make Parliament's approval mandatory to any such international deals that India makes in future. It says this was necessary in view of "the uncalled for and regrettable secrecy with which the Congress and the Prime Minister deal with the nuclear deal".
