Day before Gujarat votes, BJP finally releases manifesto, says Congress making tall election promises

The Bharatiya Janata Party has promised to double farmers income and improve on the 10% growth Gujarat recorded during its administration in manifesto released in the state capital with less than 24 hours left for polling to 89 seats in the first phase. Unlike 2012 the BJP manifesto has not made any extravagant promises with the poll document revolving around overall development without giving details. The Gujarat BJP had in 2012 promised to construct 50 lakh houses in five years. BJP promised to set up new industrial regions to generate employment and encourage startups apart from setting up a special empowerment fund for women. The party also promised to enhance the widow pension from time to time. The Supreme Court had recently penalised 12 states and Union territories including Gujarat for showing lack of concern for women. The party also promised to effectively implement the law regulation on the fees charged by the private schools apart from enhancing number of centres for cheap and generic medicines and setting up mobile clinics and government diagnostic labs. BJP has mentioned welfare measures for tribals OBCs nomadic and de-notified tribes Dalits and economically weaker sections but the manifesto is silent on minorities. The party also promised to work to enhance the cultural pride of the state and expressed its commitment to build New Gujarat with a motto that there can be no place for casteism communalism in New India and dynasty in democracy. Releasing the manifesto Union finance minister Arun Jaitley dubbed poll promises made by Congress as constitutionally impossible and financially improbable if not impossible. However taking a leaf out of Congress promise BJP too promised to effectively implement the law banning cow slaughter. The party also promised to double income of farmers by refraining from ascribing any time frame for the realisation of the target. Unlike earlier elections the BJP manifesto was released only hours before the first phase. The delay had attracted criticism from party detractors. Patidar leader Hardik Patel tweeted Busy in making CDs BJP has forgotten to make manifesto voting istomorrow. Without specifying a timeframe or giving numbers the BJP manifesto said that to convert villages into smart villages pucca houses for poor families would be constructed. It also promised to construct toilets in every house in rural Gujarat. For urban centres the BJP promised timely implementation of Smart City projects and construction of multi-level parking lots. It also promised to set up district-level Tribal Welfare Boards and an Adivasi University . Other promises included new tourism circuits development of ports affordable healthcare for poor workers from the unorganised sector new hostels for ScheduledCaste students and doubling of grant given to the Thakor and Koli Development Board. Gujarat Election 2017: Key highlights of BJP Manifesto of 7NextPrevPlay SlideshowManifesto comes just a day before polls8 Dec 2017A day before the first phase of polling in Gujarat the ruling BJP today released its election manifesto promising higher growth and higher farmers income.Focus on Growth8 Dec 2017Unlike 2012 the BJP manifesto has not made any extravagant promises with the poll document revolving around overall development without giving details.Double Farmers Income8 Dec 2017The manifesto resolved to double farmers income through various means such as cheap fertilisers and seeds better irrigation proper Minimum Support Prices and (access to) food processing .For women8 Dec 2017The party promised to increase the pension for widows at regular intervals.Youth & Students8 Dec 2017BJP promised to give priority to quality education and build international-level universities . Party also promised to set up district-level Tribal Welfare Boards and an Adivasi University .Next Parth MN Contributor Firstpost10:10 (IST)Communal polarisation powerful tool in GujaratCommunal polarisation is a powerful tool in Gujarat. Amreli has a sizeable Patel population which has historically been anti-Muslim. The Hindutva card is played by BJP to undo the Hardik Patel effect. Two days before the Assembly elections in Surat posters asking Muslims in Gujarat to vote for Congress leader Ahmed Patel to make him chief minister were seen across the city IANS reported. The first of the two-phase elections in the state is on Saturday. The posters have a photo of Patel with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress poll symbol with an appeal to the Muslim community in Gujarati. To maintain unity within the Muslim community and to make Ahmed Patel the wazir-e-alam grand minister of Gujarat we request the Muslim community to vote only for the Congress the poster reads. Patel a Rajya Sabha MP and an aide of Congress President Sonia Gandhi said he and his party had nothing to do with the posters and blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party for polarising the elections. The moot issue is that the BJP is trying very very hard to divert the narrative from its performance of last 22 years to a divisive agenda Patel said on Twitter. Hence their reliance on lies and propaganda. But the people of Gujarat have made up their mind this time. In a series of tweets Patel blamed the BJP for putting up fake posters that he said showed the utter desperation of the party. I have never ever been a candidate for the CM and will never ever be he said.Putting up fake posters and orchestrating a rumour campaign shows the utter desperation of the BJP. Fearing defeat do they have to rely on such dirty tricks? I have never ever been a candidate for CM and will never ever be Ahmed Patel (@ahmedpatel) December 7 2017 The moot issue is that BJP is trying very very hard to divert the narrative from its performance of last 22 years to a divisive agenda. Hence their reliance on lies & propaganda.But people of Gujarat have made up their mind this time Ahmed Patel (@ahmedpatel) December 7 2017 Gujarat Congress Spokesperson Manish Doshi called the posters a mischief of the BJP according to The Indian Express. Shahnawaz Sheikh a councillor in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation said the posters incorrectly called chief minister in Urdu as wazir-e-alam while it should be wazi-e-aala.BJP Spokersperson Harshad Patel rubbished the allegations made by the Congress. It is a false allegation against the BJP he told The Indian Express. The BJP has nothing to do with the posters. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday for not releasing its manifesto for Gujarat just two days before the state goes to the polls.The BJP has shown unbelievable disrespect to the people of Gujarat Gandhi said on Twitter. Campaigning is over and STILL no mention of a manifesto for the people no vision and no ideas presented for Gujarat s future. On Saturday 89 Assembly constituencies will vote in the first phase of the elections. The elections to the remaining 93 will be held on December 14.The Congress party s chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala also hit out at the BJP: Using jumla (rhetoric) is only their manifesto. Congress leader Ahmed Patel listed three reasons for the BJP not releasing its manifesto. This is because 1. Vikas was never their agenda 2. They don t want to answer questions about 2012 promises 3. They have realised that their defeat is certain Patel said on Twitter. The Congress released its manifesto on Tuesday promising a quota for Patidars among other things. The BJP has shown unbelievable disrespect towards the people of Gujarat. Campaign is over and STILL no mention of a manifesto for the people no vision and no ideas presented for Gujarat s future. #BJPDisrespectsGujarat Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) December 7 2017 जुमले ह ऊनक घ षण पत्र है https://t.co/qAtxQL9fZx Randeep S Surjewala (@rssurjewala) December 7 2017 BJP has not even bothered to produce in front of the voters a manifesto or vision for Gujarat.This is because 1. Vikas was never their agenda2. They don t want to answer questions about 2012 promises3. They have realised that their defeat is certain Ahmed Patel (@ahmedpatel) December 7 2017 The BJP s Manifesto Committee Chairperson Jaynarayan Vyas said the document was ready but the party s Gujarat unit spokesperson Bharat Pandya said the manifesto committee members were meeting regularly to fine-tune major aspects The Indian Express reported. When state leaders complete the details it will be out immediately Pandya said. MUMBAI: Prasad Lad the BJP nominee in the crucial by-election to the legislative council won after securing 209 votes on Thursday. Lad got 17 more votes than the combined strength of BJP Shiv Sena and seven Independents backing the state government. In the wake of the victory chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has emerged stronger said a BJP leader. Congress nominee Dilip Mane secured 73 votes nine less than the combined strength of the Congress-NCP. Some Congress and NCP legislators voted in favour of Lad violating the party whip. Lad s victory has established that had the Shiv Sena not voted for the BJP nominee he would have secured 146 votes and won the election said a BJP minister. A senior Congress leader admitted that there the cross-voting will be probed. In the 288-member House the BJP has a strength of 122 Shiv Sena 63 Congress 42 NCP 41 BVP and PWP three each MIM 2 MNS SP CPM one each. There are seven Independent legislators and two MLAs from fringe parties. Former CM Narayan Rane dropped the plan to contest the by-election in view of Sena s opposition to his nomination. Fadnavis too abandoned the idea of getting him elected to the council and inducting him as a minister in the state cabinet to ensure his government s stability. Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Maharashtra Nana Patole resigned from the party and the Lok Sabha on Friday PTI reported. Patole who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2008 after quitting the Congress was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2014 general elections from the Vidarbha region s Bhandara-Gondia constituency. Patole has often been critical of the policies of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.In August he had criticised the Fadnavis government for its implementation of the farm loan waiver scheme. He had said that the state was insensitive to farmers woes. In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan he cited 14 matters related to agriculture economy the Goods and Services Tax reservation for minorities and unemployment as reasons for his resignation according to India Today. Two persons were arrested in Guwahati for allegedly circulating text messages offering to kill Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for Rs 5 crore IANS reported on Friday quoting the police. The men who are employees of Guwahati Medical College and Hospital were arrested on Tuesday and were remanded to 14 days in judicial custody by a local court. We have arrested them on interception of SMSes which state that they were ready to bomb the education minister during any of the forthcoming public meetings at Jalukbari area and demanded Rs 5 crore for the job Assam Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay said.The police are questioning the accused to ascertain if there was a definite plan to carry out the act or if it was just a mischief being played he added. The text messages were also sent to mobile numbers registered in the names of former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi former minister Rockybul Hussain and Congress leader Dulu Ahmed Hindustan Times reported.A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code including attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy has been registered against the accused. A Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sarma holds finance tourism education and health portfolios in the Assam Cabinet. He was a minister in the previous Congress regime led by Gogoi in the state before he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2015. VARANASI: After questions on GST in Kautilya s Arthshastra and Manu on globalisation students of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) were asked to write about Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the examination of MA political science semester-I on December 5. The paper Indian Political System: Theoretical and Structural Aspects carried a question of 15 marks asking students to write an essay on Bharatiya Janata Party . A question on Aam Adami Party (AAP) too found place in the paper but carried only two marks. What is AAP? was the question to be described in 50 words. Prof. Kowshal Kishor Mishra who set the paper defended the questions. There is nothing wrong to ask about BJP as all political parties both national and regional are in the curriculum. Every year students are asked to write about specific political parties. In last year s question paper students were asked to write on Samajwadi Party (SP) he told TOI on Friday. Question on BJP raises eyebrows Besides political parties we also teach students about various pressure groups and other components of political system he added. The question on BJP raised many eyebrows on the campus. It is true that the political parties are part of our syllabus but asking about BJP at this point when Gujarat is going to poll exposes the mindset of the question setter said a student on condition of anonymity. Another student said allotting only two marks for the question What do you understand by secularism? is an attempt to propagate the ideology of a particular political party in BHU. However some students saw nothing objectionable in such questions. What is harm in asking about BJP when it is the part of syllabus asked political science student Rahul Srivastava. Mishra had earlier perplexed the students by asking to choose between writing an essay on the nature of GST in Kautilya s Arthashastra and Manu is the first Indian thinker of globalisation. Discuss in question paper of Social and Political Thought on December 4.