india

Updated: Apr 09, 2019 18:38 IST

Ahead of the first phase of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the Odisha Assembly, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress on Sunday released their manifesto promising loan waiver and interest free loan to farmers, land and houses to landless, death punishment for those convicted in raping minors and filling up the largescale vacancies of doctors in government health facilities.

Releasing the BJP manifesto at a city hotel, BJP national president Amit Shah said if voted to power in Odisha, the first job of the BJP government would be to free farmers and sharecroppers from the clutches of moneylenders and from their debt burden by providing interest-free crop loans to all sharecroppers, small and marginal farmers of Odisha. “Our manifesto is based on 9 points that are like 9 pillars of our vision for the development of ‘New Odisha’,” he said, after releasing the manifesto.

Focusing on farmers, the party has promised loans to farmers at 0 per cent interest rate, monthly pension of Rs 3,000 for small and medium farmers above the age of 60 years, to expand the irrigation network in the state through a dedicated fund of Rs 1 lakh crore over the next five years, a subsidy of 95 per cent on solar pumpsets with a capacity of 3 HP and 5 HP to all farmers and the launch of an agricultural mission to promote comprehensive rain water harvesting and ground water management, including the construction of 5,000 check dams across the state. The manifesto also promises to provide 1.5 times the input cost as the MSP for all eligible crops and ensure clearance of dues owed to the sugarcane farmers by the sugar mills in the first 150 days of forming the government.

Similarly, focusing on women, the party has promised to enact a law making a provision to award death sentence to those involved in raping girls aged 15 years or younger. It has also promised to implement strict security measures in all residential schools and shelter homes including women security personnel, surveillance facilities, women wardens to ensure the safety of girl children.

Similarly, targeting the women self-help groups (SHG), the manifesto promises a one-time loan waiver for all outstanding loans taken by women SHGs and creation of a revolving fund of Rs 2,000 crore to provide interest-free loans and seed money to both old and new SHGs. It also promises to give smartphones to all members of women’s SHGs with 2GB monthly data.

The manifesto also promises to provide a two-wheeler free of cost to all meritorious girl students upon completion of their higher secondary classes under Shailabala Two-wheeler Yojana. Similarly, to boost girl enrollment in high schools and higher secondary schools, it promises the implementation of Subhadra Samriddhi Yojana wherein every girl child on enrollment in 10th class, 12th class and graduation will receive Rs 10,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively. On completion of graduation, the manifesto promises Rs 15,000 in the girl child’s bank account.

It also promises to double the widow pension to Rs 1000 for those above 60 years and to Rs 1500 per month for those above the age of 79 years. The BJP government will establish a Skill Odisha Fund of Rs 3500 crore to skill youths.

For the youth, the manifesto promises an opportunity for self-employment through a revolving fund of Rs 3000 crore which will facilitate loans of up to Rs 3 lakh at 1 per cent interest rate.

The state Congress which released its manifesto in the afternoon, promised loan waivers up to Rs 2 lakh. It said every farmer family will get a special financial assistance of Rs 10,000 annually for the next three years. Besides, the manifesto promises guaranteed remunerative prices for all major farm and forest produce and set Rs 2,600 as the price of a quintal of paddy for purchasing from farmers.

“One person in every family will have a job, either in the public or private sector and the jobless will get an unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000. All contractual workers in the public sector will be taken on regular service. There would be no contractual employment in teaching, healthcare and social security services,” the manifesto says. A 5-year plan will be unveiled to provide homestead land to every landless family in a village and shelter for every urban homeless family.

It promised a monthly pension of 1,500 to farmers above the age of 60 and monthly benefit of Rs 500 to all Green Card Holders.

To get the women voters on its side, it has promised 33 per cent reservation in central and state government jobs, free education at all levels and financial assistance to needy families for daughter’s marriage, Rs 2,000 monthly pension to widows and single women above 60 years. It also promised higher pay of Rs 9,000 a month for all anganwadi workers.

Both BJP and Congress promised filling up the vacancies of doctors in 2 and 1 year of coming to power, respectively.