PM Modi, Amit Shah launch BJP manifesto

At the launch of the BJP's manifesto, party president Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has provided a decisive leadership for the government over the last five years. He also said that the period between 2014 to 2019 would be penned in 'golden words'.

Talking about the surgical strikes, Shah said that the Modi government dared to take on the fight against terror all the way to the origins of terror. He said that the Modi-led government had sent out a strong message that India cannot be taken lightly with strikes on terror.

Click here to read the full maniifesto

"Our Sankalp Patra promises to fulfil all expectations of people. BJP makes 75 pledges in manifesto for upcoming Lok Sabha elections," Shah said. Urging the voters to vote party into power again, he said, "BJP promises people a transparent, strong and decisive government."

Cusp of history

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is also the head of the BJP’s manifesto committee, said,  "Our Sankalp Patra is vision document that lists expectations of 130 crore Indians." "We are fully committed on nationalism and have zero tolerance towards terrorism," Rajnath said.

He said that the party will work towards increasing the strike capabilities of armed forces if voted back to power.

BJP President Amit Shah speaks at the launch of the party's election manifesto in New Delhi, 8 April, 2019.

Reaffirming the party's stand on the Uniform Civil Code, the Home Minister said that his party is committed on its implementation. He also said that the BJP will ensure passage of Citizenship Amendment Bill in Parliament with utmost respect to every state’s cultural value.

“Will give Rs 6,000 yearly income support to farmers and pension to small and marginal farmers above 60 years of age,” Singh said. “We will work on improving India's ranking in ease of doing business,” Singh said. “We will try to double exports,” he added.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the BJP manifesto has a strong nationalist vision. It is "rooted in Indian reality", he said. He said that the BJP, through its manifesto, seeks to deplete poverty over next five years to single digit and then gradually eliminate it. "Previous governments only gave slogans. PM Modi government gave resources to poor," Jaitley said.

The Union Finance Minister said the party was committed to annulling Article 35 A of the Constitution, which provides special rights and privileges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. "The provision is discriminatory against non-permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir," he said. "When India is at the cusp of history making most of all its lost opportunities, does it require a fragile government or a decisive one?," he asked.

Taking a dig at the opposition, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said, "We are working for stable and strong government, whereas opposition parties are working to form a weak collation government."

'Governance is our mantra'

At the launch of BJP's election manifesto, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that nationalism was the party's inspiration and governance was their mantra . "BJP’s multi-layer and multi-dimensional manifesto addresses needs of all sections of society," he said. The BJP’s Sankalp Patra addresses expectations and aspirations of country, Modi said, adding that it contains ' Jan ki Mann ki Baat ’.

"We first addressed needs of people, now we will fulfil their aspirations," the Prime Minister said. "Good governance, easy governance, transparent governance and responsible governance have helped in increasing delivery on ground," he added.

" Sankalp Patra aims to make India a developed nation by 2047, on completion of 100 years of Independence," Modi said.

Election promises

Committing itself to Women's Reservation in the Parliament, the BJP promised to reserve 33 percent of seats in the Indian parliament and state assemblies for women if it returns to power in an election due to begin on Thursday. "Women's welfare and development will be accorded a high priority at all levels within the government, and the BJP is committed to 33 percent reservation in parliament and state assemblies through a constitutional amendment,” the manifesto said.

The party promised a capital investment of Rs 100 lakh crore ($1.44 trillion) on infrastructure by 2024, to help create jobs for the millions of youth entering the workforce every year. The party also pledged to simplify the GST, if it comes back to power.

In its manifesto, the BJP promises a to have a pension scheme for small and marginal farmers, provide interest free loan for up to Rs 1 lakh on KCC, extend income support scheme to all farmers and double of farm income by 2022. The party promises an investment of Rs 25 lakh crores to increase farm/rural productivity. It also seeks to make enrollment to the crop insurance programme (PMFBY) voluntary. It also seeks to create a National Warehousing Grid.

The party promises to reduce all agricultural imports and provides for the formation of a predictable export and import policy, which will encourage exports and discouraging imports.

The also promised to take its flagship programmes -- providing toilets, electricity connections, houses, cooking gas, crop insurance and loans for small businesses -- to more beneficiaries by allocating additional resources. It has also pledged to revise income tax brackets to help the middle-class if it is voted to power again.

Also read: BJP pledges to revise tax slabs if re-elected

Top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its chief Amit Shah, are present at the launch of the manifesto.

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Sunday unveiled campaign themes and other materials of the party’s election campaign, with “Phir ek baar, Modi sarkar (Modi government, once more)” as the tag line.

For detailed coverage:Election 2019

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