The BJP manifesto promises a probe into the alleged corruption of the ruling BRS by a retired judge of the Supreme Court.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah releasing the BJP manifesto for the Telangana Assembly election in Hyderabad.
As was only to be expected, the Telangana BJP election manifesto — christened Mana Modi Guarantee, BJP Bharosa — has a distinct communal flavour, and also lays bare the party’s intention to whip up the Telangana sentiment to rally the people behind it ahead of the Assembly elections on 30 November.
The manifesto, released by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a hotel in Hyderabad on Saturday, 18 November, has tried to exploit the streak of self-respect that runs through Telangana people, to the party’s advantage.
The manifesto said the allegations of corruption against those in the ruling BRS government would be probed by a retired Supreme Court judge — going one up on the Congress promise of an inquiry by a retired high court judge.
“Those who are responsible will be thrown in jail,” Amit Shah said, apparently with an intent to range the people against Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for allegedly seeking personal gain, ignoring their welfare.
Staying true to the BJP’s DNA, Amit Shah began by explaining the contents of the manifesto that are communally touchy.
The very first promise he made was that the BJP government would celebrate Hyderabad Liberation Day on 17 September as a state event and organise anniversaries to mourn the Parkala and Bhairanpally massacres on 27 August every year.
A memorial and a museum would be constructed to showcase the sacrifices made in the struggle for the “liberation of Hyderabad” state from the Muslim rule of the Nizams. The Congress and the BRS celebrate the event as “integration day”.
Another interesting promise included in the manifesto was to take senior citizens on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya — where a Rama temple is coming up and will be opened before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections — as well as Kashi after the BJP comes to power in the state.
The Union home minister stirred the hornet’s nest by saying that a committee would be constituted for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Telangana. Within six months of coming to power, the BJP would issue a notification to this effect, he said.
The manifesto also offered cows free of cost to farmers interested in rearing them, which was indicative of the party’s resolve to spread of the Hindutva ideology across the farming community, albeit in a subtle way.
The manifesto touched a raw nerve of the Muslims by saying that all reservations granted to them would be abolished — and the quota would be distributed among the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes (SCs/STs/BCs).
The BJP has some other interesting promises in the manifesto.
One of them was to open a fixed deposit account for every girl child and put a sum of money that would grow to ₹2 lakh by the time she attains 21 years.
The party also promised to establish a Mahila Rythu Corporation for the welfare of women farmers and the creation of 10 lakh jobs for women. A Domestic Women’s Corporation would be set up for the welfare of the domestic helps which would skill them in jobs and provide them social security.
The party offered free laptops to female students of degree colleges and those of professional institutions. The supply of four LP cylinders free of cost in a year to the beneficiaries of the Ujjwala scheme was another freebie promised.
Tapping into the anger of the youths who could not land jobs after education, the manifesto said it would organise Group I, II, and other competitive examinations of the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) once in six months, on the lines of the UPSC.
The party promised to fill all vacancies in the government within six months of coming to power — including vacancies under the Economically Weaker Section, or EWS, quota meant for the poor among the upper castes.
Another important promise that might have traction with the voters was to bring down the price of diesel and petrol by cutting the VAT imposed by the state.
The party also has big promises for the agriculture sector.
It offered an additional ₹2,500 subsidy to small and marginal farmers, in addition to the existing ₹18,000 subsidy on fertilisers, free crop insurance, and fixing ₹3,100 as MSP for paddy.
To stabilise the price of turmeric, a market intervention fund would be created. Nizamabad would be developed as a “turmeric city” after the establishment of the Turmeric Board.
A “Mee Bhoomi” portal would be brought in to replace the existing Dharani, a flagship BRS initiative which has come under a cloud after allegations that several farmers had lost their lands.
As regards the health sector, the party promised insurance cover of up to ₹10 lakh to eligible families who undergo treatment at private hospitals. Multi-specialty hospitals would be set up at the district level and measures would be taken to prevent corporate hospitals from exploiting patients.
On improving infrastructure and giving a fillip to industries, the party said its focus would be on highways, infoways, railways, and airways.
The Hyderabad-Vijayawada section would be developed as an industrial corridor, it said. The manifesto also promised the reopening of the Nizam sugar factory and a review of the entire Kaleshwaram project.
The manifesto promised that the BJP would put forth effective arguments before the KWDT-II [Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal] and get the state its rightful share of the Krishna river’s waters.
The party also promised reimbursement of income tax to the employees of the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd.
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