- Monday, April 29, 2024
The opposition criticised the manifesto of the Hindu nationalist party calling it a document of fake promises and that the Indian youth would not fall in Modi’s trap again.
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of prime minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (14) promised to generate employment, boost infrastructure and expand welfare plans if it wins mandate for the third successive term in this year’s elections beginning April 19. He also said that his government is eyeing “dignity of life and quality of life”. He said this while unveiling his party’s manifesto for the upcoming elections.
Unemployment and inflation have remained two major worries for the ruling party after a decade in office despite Modi continuing to enjoy popularity. Surveys have shown that unemployment, inflation and rural distress are among major concerns in the world’s most populous country despite the economic performance.
India has seen strong economic growth, infrastructure push and welfare handouts since Modi came to power in 2014. His government has also been accused of promoting aggressive Hindu nationalism in this period and sidelining the Muslim minority which it has denied.
Read: Why Indian diaspora key for Modi’s BJP in 2024 elections
The BJP's Sankalp Patra provides a comprehensive overview of the NDA Government's achievements and charts the vision for building a Viksit Bharat by 2047.https://t.co/RwlzXLoxIj
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 14, 2024
Surveys have shown that unemployment, inflation and rural distress are among major concerns in the world’s most populous country despite the economic performance.
Read: While Modi remains popular, Indian voters have 2 big worries…
The prime minister, who released the manifesto titled ‘Modi’s Guarantee’ at the BJP’s headquarters in New Delhi on Sunday, said, “Our focus is on dignity of life … on quality of life, our focus is also on creating jobs through investment”.
Speaking about the future growth, Modi told cheering BJP members that the country’s youth would not have imagined the number of opportunities that could come their way. A number of top ministers of his government were also among the audience, wearing stoles featuring the party’s lotus symbol.
The Indian National Congress, the country’s main opposition party, said it was not impressed by a manifesto which it called as one filled with “empty promises”.
The Grand Old Party, which is desperately seeking to revive its political fortunes, said the country is facing high unemployment and inflation and none other than the prime minister would be held accountable for what has happened in the last 10 years.
Senior lawmaker of the party, Manish Tewari was quoted as saying by Reuters, “Today, people want to ask what happened in the last 10 years. Unemployment is rampant and inflation has broken the back of common people. The people of the country will hold him (Modi) to account for what’s happened in the last 10 years.”
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said unemployment and inflation were missing from the BJP’s manifesto while Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi called the manifesto a document of fake promises.
“BJP does not even want to discuss the most important issues related to people’s lives,” Gandhi posted on X. “This time the youth is not going to fall into Modi’s trap, now they will strengthen the hands of Congress and bring an ’employment revolution’ in the country.”
In the manifesto, Modi also pledged to enhance welfare initiatives, such as including all Indians aged 70 and above in an ongoing free health insurance scheme and extending piped cooking gas connections to every household, building on a subsidized cooking gas cylinder initiative taken in 2016.
The BJP’s other commitments entail increasing the loan ceiling for small and micro non-farming borrowers, providing free housing for an additional 30 million impoverished individuals, and maintaining a programme for distributing free grains to 800 million Indians until 2029.
The manifesto also underscored the BJP government’s dedication to pursuing a course of low inflation and fiscal responsibility to foster robust economic growth.
“The ambition of the 1.4 billion people of the country is Modi’s mission,” Modi said. “I am placing this manifesto before the people to seek their blessings. Please bless us … to increase our strength … implement this manifesto and ensure a developed India.”
(With Reuters inputs)
