BJP president JP Nadda on Friday released his party’s manifesto for the assembly elections in Mizoram, making a host of promises, including a 33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs and investigation into a social welfare scheme of the MNF government.
In the 70-page ‘Vision Document’, the BJP went big on promises aimed at attracting the women voters, who play a significant role in Mizoram’s society.
Speaking at the function after releasing the manifesto, Nadda said the BJP is committed to making it the document of reality.
“Many political parties come out with their vision document, their mission document, their manifesto, but we find them to be a mere piece of paper because even they are not very sure whether they are going to pursue that vision or mission or commitment. But, when BJP brings out a ‘vision document’, it is well-researched,” he said.
Noting the key points in the document, Nadda said that if voted to power, the BJP will invest Rs 1,000 crore to revamp the agricultural infrastructure of the state.
It will also introduce 33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs, and establish ‘Mizoram Hmeichhiate Battalion’ — the state’s first all-women police battalion, he said.
“We would introduce the Queen Ropuiliani Women Empowerment Scheme whereby every girl child will be offered a cumulative financial assistance to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh,” he added.
It will also launch ‘Operation Drug-Free Mizoram’ to curb drug addiction among youths of the state, if voted to power.
Nadda said the BJP will establish a special investigation team to probe the “irregularities and corruption” in the implementation of the Socio-Economic Development Programme, the flagship scheme of the Zoramthanga-led Mizo National Front (MNF) government.
He said the BJP is also committed to resolving the long-standing border dispute between Mizoram and Assam.
The BJP also promised a budget of Rs 250 crore to revamp the government schools, and Rs 350 crore to build new government colleges and revamp the existing ones.
It promised ‘Mizoram Olympic Mission’ to make it a leading state for sportspersons. Among the initiatives will be a sports academy and fully-funded scholarships for aspiring sportspersons in different disciplines.
Nadda also announced that the coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme will be increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakhs, and the Zoram Medical College (ZMC) will be upgraded to Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS).
The annual financial assistance of Rs 6,000 under the PM-Kisan scheme for farmers would be increased to Rs 8,000, he said.
The BJP will also allocate Rs 3,000 crore to upgrade and modernise all roads over the five years, if voted to power, he added.
Nadda said the BJP will revamp state tourism with a corpus of Rs 250 crore.
He said the Northeast region experienced a significant change after the NDA came to power at the Centre.
Polling for the 40-member Mizoram assembly will be held on November 7, and the counting of votes will take place on December 3.
The BJP, which contested 39 seats in the last assembly polls in 2018, is now contesting 23 seats. It has one MLA in the current assembly.
