BJP Manifesto | SabrangIndia

BJP Jharkhand manifesto splashes 23 pictures of Modi, neglects party’s Adivasi faces

sabrang — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 06:07:24 +0000

Ahead of the 2024 Jharkhand assembly elections, the BJP released its manifesto on Saturday, prominently featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image on nearly every third page. In the 76-page manifesto, Modi appears no fewer than 23 times.

In contrast, the party’s prominent Adivasi leaders, including former chief ministers Babulal Marandi and Arjun Munda, are almost absent. Similarly, the manifesto lacks representation of women leaders, especially Adivasi women, raising questions about the party’s commitment to women’s empowerment.

Several pages are entirely devoted to photos of Modi, while Adivasi leader Marandi appears only in two, visibly smaller images. Arjun Munda is visible only in the background of a photograph where Modi occupies the central position.

In the images featured, Modi is seen paying tribute to Adivasi icons such as Birsa Munda (1875-1900), Telanga Kharia (1806–1880), and Veer Budhu Bhagat (1792–1832). In another image, Modi is shown among a group of women, an apparent attempt to convey his appeal as a leader admired by women, committed to their welfare.

Elsewhere, Modi is pictured distributing benefits from the Prime Minister Kisan Mandhan Yojana. Another photo captures him interacting with a potter, and yet another shows him playfully engaging with children.

While some of these images depict Modi’s gestures towards Adivasis and vulnerable communities, a large-sized photograph on page 67 of the manifesto shows him with folded hands, his forehead marked with religious symbols. For some, this image signals his identity as an RSS cadre, underscoring that his engagement with Adivasi communities does not detract from his adherence to, or dereference of, RSS traditions.

Apart from the National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) J.P. Nadda and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, no other prominent BJP leaders are featured, reflecting Modi’s continuing dominance within the party.

In a parliamentary democracy, the rise of hero-worship and the dominance of one leader over both the party and the government is seriously concerning.

In a caste-based society like India, no individual can claim to represent the interests of all groups. That is why social diversity should be reflected in all institutions, from political parties to government bodies.

The dominance of Modi also challenges the BJP’s claims of being run by “democratic” principles and having “ample space” for internal debates and discussions. But Modi’s rise within the BJP’s central leadership has not only marginalized his rivals but also overshadowed the presence of his supporters.

The BJP Jharkhand manifesto also omits Dalit and OBC leaders from Jharkhand. Nor has the party offered any substantial program for the welfare of the Dalit (12%) and OBC population in the state.

While the manifesto declares the party’s commitment to 27% reservation for OBCs to appeal to the state’s other backward castes, the JMM-led Hemant Soren government has already decided to raise OBC reservation to this level years back. Moreover, while the BJP aims to rally Adivasi voters by emphasizing the threat of “Bangladeshi infiltrators” in Santhal Pargana, it has made no significant gestures toward the state’s Muslim minority.

Along with the Muslim minority (14.5%), the concerns of the Christian community, which constitutes 4.3% of the population, have also been ignored.Similarly, major issues such as the exploitation of Jharkhand’s resources and the displacement of Adivasis have been sidestepped by focusing on the “threats” of Muslim infiltration and “Naxalism”.

What remains consistent across the pages of the manifesto, however, is the extensive display of Modi’s images.

(The author is an independent journalist)

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SKM denounces BJP manifesto

Wed, 09 Feb 2022 13:11:49 +0000

Image Courtesy:aajtak.in

“BJP’s election manifesto is a bundle of lies,” said Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders on February 9, 2022 during press conferences in Moradabad and Bareilly. Members appealed to citizens to “punish the anti-farmer” party.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its manifesto ‘Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra’ as early as January 2022. In it, the party claimed that 86 lakh state farmers enjoyed a loan waiver of ₹36,000 cr and 2.5 crore farmers got an annual fiscal assistance of ₹6,000 under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi – making UP the number one performer in this field.

However, SKM leaders Hannan Mollah, Yogendra Yadav, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Rakesh Tikait, Shivkumar Sharma (Kakka) and Dr Sunilam attending the farmer meetings criticised the BJP for misleading the people. “The promises made by the BJP in the election manifesto to farmers were also made during the 2017 elections but they were not implemented. Farmers neither got the MSP, nor did their income double,” said Mollah.

In the latest manifesto, the BJP said that it will ensure that sugarcane farmers are paid their dues within 14 days. For late payment, it promised to pay the farmers with an interest by charging sugar mills accordingly. To this, the SKM pointed out that the party made the exact same promise in its 2017 manifesto. Yet, sugarcane farmers still await the balance of ₹ 20 cr for 2017-18 and as much as ₹ 3,752 cr for 2020-21.

“Despite the Allahabad High Court’s March 2017 order, farmers have not been paid the interest of ₹ 8,700 cr due to delay in payment in the last ten years,” said SKM.

In the Sankalp Patra, the BJP has made varying promises for procurement of paddy, wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, onions among other crops at Minimum Support Price (MSP). Again, farmers said that this is a promise picked out from the 2017 manifesto that the party forgot when it came into power. In fact, the SKM claimed that during the last five years, less than a third of the paddy production was procured by the government. In the case of wheat, the government procured less than one bag of wheat out of every six bags produced.

For the 2022 elections, the ruling regime promised to start the Mukhya Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana with a cost of ₹5,000 cr, providing grants for the construction of borewells, tubewells, ponds and tanks for all small and marginal farmers.

This same Yojana was to be implemented five years ago with a corpus of ₹ 20,000 cr. It is yet to be established. In the same way, 10 lakh UP farmers were promised free pump sets under the UDAY scheme but so far only 6,068 energy efficient pumps have been installed. Even though these promises from previous elections are yet to be completed, the BJP reiterated the provision of solar pumps under the Pradhan Mantri Kusum Yojana. The promise of six food processing parks was also reused in a similar manner. The provision of free electricity supply for irrigation also came from the 2017 manifesto.

“In the last five years, there was not enough electricity. The electricity rates of Uttar Pradesh are the highest in India,” said the SKM. Elaborating, it said the Yogi-government has increased the rate of rural metered electricity from ₹ 1 per unit to ₹ 2 per unit for tubewells since 2017. There was also an unexpected increase in the fixed charge from ₹ 30 to ₹ 70. Additionally, for unmetered connections increased from ₹ 100 to ₹ 170.

The SKM also asked farmers to recall the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre wherein four farmers and one local journalist were allegedly mowed down and killed by Union Minister Ajajy Mishra’s son Ashish. It also talked about how the BJP-led government backtracked from their promises made to Delhi-border farmers on December 9, 2021. To condemn this, India’s farmers even observed VIshwasghat Diwas on January 31.

Following that, as many as 57 UP farmer organizations resolved to start Mission UP. Leaders will visit multiple villages, distributing pamphlets and holding street meetings, to ask voters not to invest their confidence in the “anti-farmer” BJP.

“Those farmers who had to sell their crops at half the price of MSP and saved their crops from stray animals by staying awake all night will definitely vote against the BJP to teach it a lesson,” said the SKM.

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Party Manifestos Differ On Dealing With Farm Crisis, National Security, Jobs

Sat, 13 Apr 2019 05:13:44 +0000

Mumbai: The crisis in the agriculture sector, unemployment and national security have become the leading issues during the general election for the 17th Lok Sabha whose first phase began April 11, 2019.

The leading national political parties’ manifestos differ on how to address these issues. IndiaSpend examines the manifestos of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian National Congress (Congress) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) to compare how they propose to address these issues, as well as foreign relations, infrastructure and health.

Promises Made By Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress and Communist Party Of India
Categories	BJP	INC	CPI (M)
Farmers	1) Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana to all 2) Pension for small and marginal farmers 3) Rs 25 lakh crore investment in Agri-rural sector 4) Interest-free Kisan Credit Card loans	1) Congress promises to waive the outstanding farm loans in other States as well.2) We will present a separate “Kisan Budget.3) Recognise ownership and tenancy rights of women farmers and ensure women get the benefits of agriculture-related schemes.4) Re-design MGNREGA 3.0	1) Increase MSP to cover full costs including family labour, land rent etc., and give a return of at least 50% above costs (C2+50).2) crop insurance scheme to cover all types of risks for crop and cattle covering all farmers including tenant farmers and sharecroppers with additional subsidies for small and marginal farmers.3)Extend labour subsidy to the small and marginal farmers under MNREGS.
National Security	1) We will only continue our policy of ‘Zero Tolerance’ against terrorism and extremism.2) We will speed up the purchases of outstanding defence related equipment and weapons. In order to equip the Armed Forces with modern equipment.3) Armed Forces will start planning for the resettlement of soldiers three years before their retirement”	1) Defence spending is increased to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces.2) defence of the territory to include data security, cyber security, financial security, communication security3) rapidly expand domestic capacity to manufacture defence and security equipment.4) Congress will establish the office of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to be the principal adviser to the Government on matters relating to defence. 5) Congress promises to ensure increased representation of women to achieve a minimum of 33% in the force strength of CISF, CRPFand BSF.6) We will set up a Committee to draft new Service Rules for personnel of the CAPFs”1) Creating a national security apparatus, which will work within the framework of the parliamentary democratic system.	1) Creating a national security apparatus, which will work within the framework of the parliamentary democratic system.
Foreign Relations	1) We will make knowledge exchange and transfer of technology for the development of all countries a major focus of our diplomatic relations. 2) We will create an institutional mechanism to deepen the relationship between culture and heritage with people of Indian origin, and to regularly engage with them.	1) Congress promises to establish a National Council on Foreign Policy consisting of members of the Cabinet Committee on Security, scholars, domain experts and diplomats to advise the Government on matters concerning foreign policy2) Congress promises to increase significantly the size of the Foreign Service, induct domain experts	1) An independent and non-aligned foreign policy, promoting multi-polarity. Strengthen BRICS, SCO and IBSA. Reactive SAARC and strengthen ties with the countries in our immediate neighbourhood. 2) Opposing interventions and regime changes imposed by the United States as is happening in Venezuela and in many countries in Latin America. 3) Reverse the pro-Israeli tilt in foreign policy. 4) Special efforts to build relations and ties with Bangladesh and settle the Teesta water agreement. Address the concerns of Rohingyas who continue to remain as state-less.”
Jobs	Infrastructure construction will lead to more job creation.	1) Congress will fill all 4 lakh Central Government and institutional vacancies before March 2020. 2) Congress will create a new Ministry of Industry, Services and Employment. 3) Congress pledges to create lakhs of new jobs for qualified teachers, doctors, nurses, paramedics, technicians, instructors and administrators through a massive expansion of the education and health sectors 4) We will provide financial incentives to businesses that employ a certain percentage of women. 5) We recognise the need to create lakhs of low skilled jobs in order to absorb young men and women who have completed only a few years in school. 6) Increase the guaranteed days of employment up to 150 days under NREGA	1) Provision of jobs or unemployment allowance. 2) Lift the ban on recruitment in central government and state government services. All vacant posts to be filled in central and state governments within a time-bound framework. 3) Special packages to support labour-intensive industries in creating jobs. Enactment of legislation for employment guarantee in all urban areas. 200 days of work under MGNREGS to be assured; the list of permissible works under the MNREGA to be expanded to include all activities that improve the quality of life in rural areas.
Infrastructure	1) We will aim at next-generation infrastructure which will include gas grids and water grids, i-ways, regional airports and wayside amenities along National Highways. 2) We will launch a National Urban Mobility Mission to provide technology-based urban mobility solutions to all urban local bodies and increase the use of public transport, enhance walkability and cycle use. 3) In the next five years, we will ensure that 50 cities are covered with a strong metro network. 4) We will launch ‘Jal Jivan Mission’ under which we will introduce a special programme, ‘Nal se Jal’ to ensure piped water for every household by 2024. 5) We will double the length of National Highways by 2022. We will construct 60,000 kms of National Highways in the next five years. 6) We will create all viable rail tracks to broad gauge, complete the dedicated freight corridor, l equip all main railway stations with Wi-Fi facility by 2022. 7) Double the number of airports in the country 8) We will double our capacity in the next five years. 8) Every Gram Panchayat will be connected with high-speed optical fibre network by 2022.”	1) We will formulate a policy on Clean Energy in existing power plants that use fossil fuels and promote Green Energy to enhance the share of solar and wind energy in the total supply of energy 2) Congress promises to massively modernise all outdated railway infrastructure. 3) Congress promises to enhance the availability of, and access to, electricity in rural areas by encouraging investment in off-grid renewable power generation with ownership and revenues vesting in local bodies. 3) Congress promises the Right to Housing for the urban poor and protection from arbitrary eviction. 4) Congress will launch a Slum Upgradation and Transformation Scheme to ensure basic services such as drinking water, electricity and sanitation to slum dwellers. 5) Congress promises to establish a non-lapsable Rural Infrastructure Fund that will provide loans and grants to specific infrastructure projects undertaken by Panchayats and Municipalities 6) We will pass the Right to Homestead Act to provide a homestead for every household that does not own a home or own land on which a house may be built.8) Public spaces, public transport, public premises and other public facilities in towns and cities will be made safe for women, children, persons with disabilities, migrants and marginalised sections of society. More women will be appointed to government and municipal jobs in towns and cities.	Reversal of privatisation of defence production sector; immediately taking measures to rescind private participation in defence production; stopping FDI inflows in defence sector; strengthening and expanding State-owned defence industry to achieve self-reliance in defence. Changing telecom policies to promote telecom penetration and connectivity in rural areas; strengthening the public sector telecom companies BSNL and MTNL and allocating necessary spectrum for them to upgrade their services.Increasing broadband penetration and universal affordable access to the internet. Reviewing of privatisation of infrastructure through the PPP route.Rescind the orders for the private maintenance and up-gradation of airports. No further PPPs in domestic airports already modernised by Airport Authority of India. Placing emphasis on rural infrastructure; increased outlays on rural roads, electrification etc
Health	We will take it forward and set up one Medical College or Post Graduate Medical College in every district, through public or private participation, by 2024. We will endeavour to make the National Nutrition Mission a mass movement and strengthen infrastructure and capacity in all Anganwadis. We have rolled out a Special Mission to eliminate TB from India by 2025.	Congress promises that the total government expenditure on healthcare will be doubled to 3 % of GDP by the year 2023-24. 2. Congress promises to enact the Right to Healthcare Act that will guarantee to every citizen. Congress promises to implement the National Mental Health Policy, 2014 and the Mental Health Care Act, 2017 in letter and spirit. We will ensure that all vacancies at all levels in PHCs and in public hospitals are filled within a period of 1 year. 5) We will expand the ASHA programme and appoint a second ASHA worker in all villages with a population exceeding 2500 persons.	Make the right to free health care justiciable through the enactment of appropriate legislation both at Central and State levels. Public expenditure on health to be raised to at least 3.5 % in the short term and 5 % of the GDP in the long term, which would include a significantly enhanced allocation from the Centre. Strengthening, expanding and reorienting the public health system so that it is accountable to local communities and guarantees free and easy access to a range of comprehensive health care services. Build and actively promote a predominantly public health system based framework for the provision of universal health care. Scrap the PMJAY under the ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme based on the discredited ‘insurance model’. Ensure right based access to comprehensive treatment and care of persons with mental illness through the integration of the revised District Mental Health Programme with the National Health Mission. Controlling price of essential drugs by adopting a cost-based pricing formula; minimum cost-MRP margin and removal of all taxes on medicines in National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM); reduce huge excise duty on medicines by reversing from MRP-based to the cost-based collection.

Source: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian National Congress (Congress) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Joblessness
The BJP proposes to promote infrastructure development as a means to create jobs. The Congress focuses on interventions such as filling up vacant government posts, and expanding social infrastructure such as health and education services to create more jobs. In rural areas, the Congress promises to increase the number of days employment provided under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from 100 to 150 in districts and blocks where 100 days of employment have been achieved. The CPI-M, on the other hand, promises an unemployment allowance, removing the halt on government recruitment, and providing 200 days of work under MGNREGS.

Farm crisis
The BJP is planning on continuing its schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. Both the Congress and CPI-M have promised to eliminate the Fasal Bima Yojana in its present form, as both parties claim that the scheme has benefitted insurance companies more than the farmers.

The Congress promises that it will revamp the scheme, and also promises an all-round loan waiver. The Congress has made specific promises to recognise the ownership and tenancy rights of women farmers so they can benefit from agriculture schemes. It also promises a special ‘Kisan Budget’ to address the crisis in agriculture.

The CPI-M promises loan waivers and that it will enforce the increases in Minimum Support Prices (MSP) to cover full costs including family labour, land rent and so on, and provide a return of at least 50% above costs, as per the recommendation of the National Commission on Farmers chaired by eminent agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan.

National security
The BJP has reiterated its policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and speeding up of defence purchases. It has also promised to continue to carry out the ‘Make in India’ defence programme, which it hopes will also create jobs.

Meanwhile, the Congress focuses on increased defence spending and developing domestic capability to develop weapons and other equipment. The party has also expanded the purview of national security to include data security, cyber security, financial security and communication security.

Both parties have also promised to ensure the welfare of the armed forces under the wider ambit of national security, with the BJP promising that armed forces personnel will be provided resettlement facilities before three years of retirement, under which they can learn soft skills, and get financial support for higher education, housing and starting an enterprise.

The Congress has promised that it will set up a committee to draft new service rules for the personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces and increase the representation of women to achieve a minimum of 33% in the force strength of the Central Industrial Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force and Border Security Force.

Health
Health features prominently in all parties’ manifestos.

The Congress has promised to raise health spending to 3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2023-24 if elected, and to introduce a Right to Health for all citizens. The Congress has also said that the insurance-based model “cannot be the preferred model to provide universal healthcare”, and has promised to “promote and implement the free public hospitals-model”, and strengthen primary healthcare systems.

Echoes of this approach are found in the CPI-M manifesto as well.

The Congress has also promised that not only will it ensure payment dues to Accredited Social Health Activist and anganwadi workers (community health worker instituted by the government of India’s ministry of health and family welfare, and ministry of women and child development) but will also hire two ASHAs for each village with a population larger than 2,500.

The BJP will continue to support the health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat Yojana or National Health Protection Scheme. The party has also promised that it will embark on a mass movement under the National Nutrition Mission and also roll out a special mission to eliminate tuberculosis from India by 2025.

Special focus areas

BJP
The ruling party has promised that it will explore all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution and all necessary efforts to facilitate the expeditious construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The party will also “undertake every effort to ensure that the subject of faith, tradition and worship rituals related to Sabarimala are presented in a comprehensive manner before the Hon’ble Supreme Court”. It will secure constitutional protection on issues related to faith and belief.

The BJP has reiterated its stand on Article 370–which gives autonomous status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K)–saying it is committed to annulling Article 35A of the Constitution of India that empowers the J&K legislature to confer privileges to permanent residents. The BJP manifesto argues that this provision discriminates against non-permanent residents and the women of J&K who lose privileges if they marry non-permanent residents.

“We believe that Article 35A is an obstacle in the development of the state,” the manifesto states, adding, “We will make all efforts to ensure the safe return of Kashmiri Pandits and we will provide financial assistance for the resettlement of refugees from West Pakistan, Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) and Chhamb.”

It also promises a Uniform Civil Code, particularly as a means to achieve gender parity.

The promise in the party’s 2014 manifesto to increase spending on education to 6% of GDP by 2019 does not feature in the current manifesto. The 2014 promise to build an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in every state also finds no mention, instead of which the party promises to ensure that there is one medical college for every three parliamentary constituencies.

The 2014 manifesto promise of dedicated women Industrial Training Institutes and small manufacturing enterprises in every district is also absent from the 2019 manifesto.

The 2014 manifesto had promised a ban on foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail, which was upturned when the government allowed 100% FDI in single-brand retail in 2014. The current manifesto promises creation of welfare board for small traders.

Congress
The Congress will get investigated several deals entered into by the BJP government in the last five years, in particular the Rafale deal.

The party will introduce a ‘Diversity Index’ to assess and ensure diversity in all government bodies, semi-government agencies, public sector enterprises and other public bodies.

It also promises to pass an ‘Anti-Discrimination Law’ to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, gender or language in the supply of goods and services made available to the general public, such as housing, hostels, hotels and clubs.

The party will introduce a ‘Nyuntam Aay Yojana’ (NYAY) to ensure an income of Rs 72,000 a year to the 50 million families that constitute the poorest 20% families in India in order to eliminate abject poverty by 2030. The money will be transferred into the bank account of a woman in the family.

Newer issues
The Congress and the CPI-M have introduced some issues in their manifestos that are not featured in the BJP’s or any other parties’ manifestos.

LGBT rights
The Congress promises to ensure the effective implementation of the ruling in the Navtej Singh Johar case as the next steps are towards legalising same-sex marriage. If voted to power, the Congress promises to immediately withdraw the Transgender Bill of 2018 that is pending in Parliament. Instead, it aims to introduce a Bill consistent with the judgment in the case in order to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA) rights.
The CPI-M has also promised legal recognition and protection to same-sex couples similar to marriage–a ‘civil union’, ’same-sex-partnership’–through legislation on the lines of the Special Marriage Act 1954. This aims to ensure that partners can be listed as dependents for the purposes of inheritance, alimony, etc. Legislation will also ensure that crimes against LGBT persons are treated on par with crimes against non-LGBT persons. The BJP manifesto has no mention of these groups.

Workers’ rights
The Congress will ensure that notified minimum wages are paid to workers in the unorganised sector. It will ratify ILO (International Labour Organization) Convention 87 (Freedom of Association) and ILO Convention 98 (Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining).

The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, will be implemented.

The CPI-M has also promised to discourage contractualisation and casualisation of work through stringent implementation of the Contract Labour (Regulation And Abolition) Act; payment of equal wages and benefits to contract workers and regular workers who do the same and similar work; and stopping outsourcing and contractorisation of jobs of a permanent and perennial nature.

Protecting the media and battling fake news
The Congress will pass a law to curb monopolies in the media, cross-ownership of different segments of the media and control of the media by other business organisations. It will work with state governments to formulate rules to require the police to extend protection to journalists working in conflict areas or investigating matters of public interest and to journalists whose lives are threatened or otherwise in danger. It will amend the Press Council of India Act to empower the council to deal with fake news and paid news.

Revoking Aadhaar?
The Congress promises to amend the Aadhaar Act of 2016 to restrict the use of Aadhaar to subsidies, benefits and services provided by the government as was originally intended under the law.

The CPI-M has said it will scrap Aadhaar and biometric verification for all social welfare measures, and will delink Aadhaar for the public distribution system (PDS is a government-sponsored chain of shops entrusted with the work of distributing basic food and non-food commodities to the needy sections of the society at subsidised prices).

Scrapping laws
Both the Congress and the CPI-M have promised to remove or amend certain laws that they say have been used to quell opposition.

Both parties have promised to omit Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code and make ‘defamation’ a civil offence; and to omit Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code that defines the offence of ‘sedition’.
The parties also propose to amend the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. The Congress manifesto states it will amend the laws that allow for detention without trial “in order to bring them in accord with the spirit, and not just the letter, of the Constitution as well as International Human Rights Conventions”.

The Congress has also promised to pass a Prevention of Torture Act to prohibit the use of third-degree methods during custody or interrogation and to punish cases of torture, brutality and other police excesses.

(Salve is a senior analyst with IndiaSpend.)

Courtesy: India Spend

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Manifesto Fiasco: Congress, AAP call out BJP’s erroneous manifesto on Crimes against Women

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 10:23:50 +0000

Recently released Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) manifesto became a laughing stock for many including the opposition party Congress as the manifesto read: “We have constituted the Women’s Security Division in the Home Ministry, and have made strict provisions for transferring the laws in order to commit crimes against women.”

This goof up had many sections rolling on the floor with laughter as Congress pointed out the “true intentions” of the party on the issue of the safety for women.

In its manifesto, BJP mentions safety for women as one of its ‘key concerns’. But the sentence phrasing indicates the opposite.

The Congress was not one to let this opportunity slip away and had a field day on social media. It shared the screen grab of the manifesto and a tweet by the official handle read, “At least one point in BJP’s manifesto reflects their true intentions.”

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) called out the error, “”BJP’s ‘Sankalp’ to ENCOURAGE Crime Against Women”. It said, “.. @BJP4India However hard you might try, your actual intentions will come to light.”

Congress’s social media convenor Hasiba used the hashtag #WomenBewareofBJP as she wrote: “Dear BJP, Freudian slip?”

The BJP has released its manifesto just three days before the national elections. More than 24 hours later, BJP is yet to comment on the fiasco.

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BJP manifestos have been promising Ram Mandir since 1996

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 10:07:22 +0000

Reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies too has remained an election pledge since it was first mentioned by the BJP in its 1996 manifesto. BJP had been promising the safe return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley since 2009, and the scrapping of Article 370 since 1984.

New Delhi: The BJP has been promising to build a grand Ram temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya since 1991 — even before the mosque was razed.

Ram Mandir has featured in every Lok Sabha manifesto released by the BJP since 1996, the first Lok Sabha polls since the Ram Janmabhoomi movement of 1992 which eventually led to the demolition of Babri Masjid and propelled the BJP to electoral success.

The promise to build a grand Ram Mandir has been the only consistent promise made by the BJP in its election manifestoes, even while the ‘manifesto’ itself underwent changes and came to be referred to by the party as a ‘Sankalp Patra’.

The promise of ‘Mandir Wahin Banayenge’ has almost always found a place in all of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s election manifestos for the last 23 years.

In light of the ‘Sankalp Patra’ for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, here’s a timeline of the BJP manifestoes since 1996 made by The Quint.

1996:

The BJP, for the first time, promised to construct a “magnificent Shri Ram Mandir at Janmasthan in Ayodhya” and prioritised the issue on Page 12 of its manifesto.

Promise: The manifesto read, “On coming to power, the BJP Government will facilitate the construction of a magnificent Shri Ram Mandir at Janmasthan in Ayodhya which will be a tribute to Bharat Mata. This dream moves millions of people in our land; the concept of Rama lies at the core of their consciousness.”

Lok Sabha Election Result:

Neither the BJP nor the Congress could secure a majority, resulting in a hung Parliament. The BJP led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee had secured the single largest majority and went on to form the government, which lasted for only 13 days. The 11th Lok Sabha saw three prime ministers in two years and the country went back to polls in 1998.

1998:

Once again, the Ram Mandir issue found a mention in Page 8 of the BJP’s manifesto. It read, “The BJP is committed to facilitating the construction of a magnificent Shri Ram Mandir at Ram Janmasthan in Ayodhya where a makeshift temple already exists. Shri Ram lies at the core of Indian consciousness. The BJP will explore all consensual, legal and constitutional means to facilitate the construction of Shri Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.”

The manifesto also added, “The BJP is convinced that Hindutva has the immense potentiality to re-energize this nation and strengthen and discipline it to undertake the arduous task of nation-building. This can and does trigger a higher level of patriotism that can transform the country to greater levels of efficiency and performance. It is with such integrative ideas in mind, the BJP joined the Ram Janmabhoomi movement for the construction of Shri Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.”

Lok Sabha Election Result:

The result of 1998 elections were also indecisive with no party or alliance being able to secure a strong majority. However, BJP’s Vajpayee regained the position of prime minister after getting support from 286 members out of 545. But this government, too, didn’t last long.

1999

There was a single NDA manifesto which surprisingly doesn’t have even one mention of the Ram Mandir issue.

Lok Sabha Election Result:

The Vajpayee-led government fell apart when he failed to win a confidence motion in the Lok Sabha by a single vote due to the withdrawal by AIADMK and BSP, plunging the country into another round of elections after the Kargil war. In 1999, Vajpayee came back to power and served a full five-year term till 2004.

2004:

In 2004, it was interesting to note the difference in tone on the Mandir issue in the NDA’s manifesto and the BJP’s vision document.

While the NDA’s manifesto spoke more about an “early and amicable resolution of the Ayodhya issue”, the BJP’s vision document, apart from talking about dialogue, emphasised how the Ram Mandir is crucial for Hindu sentiments: “The BJP reaffirms its commitment to the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. As Maryada Purushottam, Ram is an inspiring cultural symbol of India. His birthplace in Ayodhya is also associated with the religious sentiments of crores of Hindus. The BJP remains committed to its stand that the judiciary’s verdict in this matter should be accepted by all.”

Lok Sabha Election Result:

The BJP alone had secured 138 votes and the Congress had got 145 but the grand old party managed to stitch together an alliance with more than 335 seats and returned to power after a gap of eight years.

2009:
The temple issue being pushed to Page 48 of the manifesto was seen by a lot of political analysts as the BJP’s attempt to appease its allies. The manifesto read, “There is an overwhelming desire of the people in India and abroad to have a grand temple at the birthplace of Sri Ram in Ayodhya. The BJP will explore all possibilities, including negotiations and judicial proceedings, to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.”

Lok Sabha Election Result:

The UPA led by the Congress again came to power with the BJP’s seat share going down by 22 seats to 116.

2014:

The BJP’s 2014 election promise of Ram temple was almost reduced to two lines of a cosmetic mention which read, “Ram Mandir: BJP reiterates its stand to explore all possibilities within the framework of the constitution to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.”

Lok Sabha Election Result:

The BJP of the NDA led by Narendra Modi swept the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with 282 out of 543 seats.

2017 UP Assembly polls

“BJP reiterates its position on Ram Temple – Party will explore every possibility under the constitutional provision for construction of Ram Temple.”

2019:

The 2019 manifesto says almost the same thing as 2014. It reads, “We reiterate our stand on Ram Mandir. We will explore all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution and all necessary to facilitate the expeditious construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.”

The Mandir theme rose suddenly in shrillness a few months ago, with the RSS and the VHP holding rallies across Uttar Pradesh and Delhi demanding the construction of the Ram temple. The leaders of both organisations expressed displeasure at the Modi government not being able to fulfil its Ram Mandir promise.

Women’s reservation in Parliament an election pledge since 1996

And like the Ram temple, 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies too has remained an election pledge since it was first mentioned by the Bharatiya Janata Party in its 1996 manifesto.

The BJP made its first commitment in an election manifesto in 1996 “to make women real participants in a resurgent India of the 21st century”.

In 1998, the party promised it will “immediately seek the passage of the Bill reserving 33 per cent seats for women in all elected bodies, including the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies”.

The issue came up again came up in 1999, 2004, 2009 and also in 2014.

The latest manifesto says: “Women’s welfare and development will be accorded a high priority at all levels within the government and the BJP is committed to 33 per cent reservation in parliament and state assemblies through a constitutional amendment.”

Both issues figure prominently in the 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto issued on Monday.

Stance on Article 370 since 1984

Omar Abdullah also retweeted Congress leader Salman Anees Soz, who said that the BJP had been promising the safe return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley since 2009, and the scrapping of Article 370 since 1984.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the manifesto, titled ‘Sankalpit Bharat, Sashakt Bharat’ (Determined India, Empowered India), in the presence of party chief Amit Shah and other top leaders, including Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.

The ‘Sankalp Patra’ comes three days before the first of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections begin on April 11.

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Five Years, No Questions: Modi Misses Mark Again

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 06:39:41 +0000

Senior journalist Abhisar Sharma discusses how Modi dodged the press again at the release of BJP’s manifesto ‘Sankalp Patra’.

In this episode of ‘Bol Ke Lab Azad Hain Tere’, senior journalist Abhisar Sharma discusses the BJP manifesto ‘Sankalp Patra’ and how Modi again dismissed an opportunity to face the press in the event, unlike Rahul Gandhi, who did take questions at his party’s manifesto release. Abhisar also questions the raids on Congress leaders’ associates by the BJP.

Courtesy: News Click

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Muslim youth lynched in UP village for allegedly attempting to steal a cow

Thu, 23 Mar 2017 10:54:28 +0000

On the unsubstantiated allegation of consuming and storing beef, in 2015 a mob had thrashed Mohammed Akhlaq inside his home Bisahda village, Dadri, Uttar Pradesh. The incendiary mob had even threatened the women members of the family with sexual violence.

Now comes the report from another village in the same state of a Muslim youth being thrashed to death for allegedly attempting to steal a cow.

The incident took place in Dagrauli village located in the Hasanpur area in Amroha district.

The villagers claim four thieves had entered the village late at night to steal a cow. According to the police, villager Brahmpal and his wife were awakened by the sound of a vehicle. Stepping out of their home they reportedly saw four youth attempting to drive away with their cow.

The couple shouted for help and caught hold of one of the youth. The villagers say that finding themselves surrounded by the villagers they resorted to firing, injuring six persons. But the villagers grabbed hold of one of the youth while three others fled from the scene under cover of fire.

The nabbed youth was beaten to death. By the time the police reached the scene, the youth had breather his last. A case has been registered. The name of the deceased youth is said to be Nasir who was a native of Rampur.

Soon after being sworn-in as chief minister, Yogi Adityanath had issued directions to the police to stop the smuggling of cows. Illegal slaughter houses have also been ordered to be sealed and the police have started action accordingly.

Following the swearing-in last Sunday, a slaughter house was shutdown in Allahabad on Monday. On Tuesday one slaughter house in Varanasi and 15 in Ghaziabad were similarly sealed. Shutting down illegal slaughter houses was part of the BJP’s manifesto issued during the recently concluded Assembly polls in UP.

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