The BJP Election Manifesto received an accolade from all sections of the society including various social, cultural and religious organisations. ?The manifesto rooted in the moorings of national ethos provides a roadmap for the schemes needed for an all-round development of the nation. Its preface truly represents the glorious past of our Indian polity. Today'spolitics should follow those high values. Bharat has been a spiritual nation since time immemorial and this election manifesto is a step to restore that glory,? says Shri Ashok Singhal, president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) while talking to Organiser in New Delhi.
He said since the BJP manifesto included all the eleven points raised by the saints under the banner of the Dharma Raksha Manch, the saints are educating the voters by touring even the remote villages to vote for the BJP. ?This manifesto strengthened the confidence of the common man in BJP. The majority of the Hindus have turned to the BJP this time. I have seen it with my own eyes in Uttar Pradesh. The overall mentality of the people has changed towards the BJP,? said Shri Singhal adding that it has been a long pending demand of the saints that management of the Hindu temples should be in the hands of the devotees and not in the hands of government, it is good that the BJP has promised in its manifesto that this demand of the saints would be met if it comes to power.
?At a time when the people of the country have developed utter cynicism about the election manifestos, the BJP manifesto comes as a pleasant and refreshing experience. It is full of innovative plans that, if given a chance to implement, would certainly change the landscape of our polity. It talks about probity in public life, talks about protecting the second largest employment generating sector i.e. the small traders, assures the farmers of full support, assures the nation about internal and external security and most importantly comes out with great ideas for the students and youth of our nation. Every word in the document sounds sincere and profound, not just hogwash or empty promises with votes in mind,? said Shri Ram Madhav, National Executive Member of RSS.
National convener of Swadeshi Jagran Manch Shri Arun Ojha says the manifesto rightly focused on indigenous method of development. ?The preface of the manifesto is itself highly inspiring. There is special focus on national security and economy. We have been saying right from the beginning that only the indigenous model of development can restore the pristine glory of the nation. The party clarified its stand on unemployment, retail trade and food security also. We welcome the party'sstand on Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and agriculture. The party has made it clear that it will formulate a National Land Use Policy and the fertile farmland will not be used for industrial purposes. Basically SJM has been saying it for the last so many years. Similarly, the entry of foreign companies should not be allowed in retail trade. Their stand on swadeshi products and Genetically Modified (GM) food is also welcome. We also welcome their stand taken on black money and the amount stashed away in Swiss banks. The SJM is going to make it a big issue. By and large the manifesto promotes our swadeshi point of view and we welcome it,? added Shri Ojha.
The Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram also welcomed the measures suggested in the manifesto for the benefit of the Vanvasis. ?We are still grateful to the previous Vajpayee government for setting up a separate ministry for Vanvasi welfare. It proved an effective tool in the betterment of the Vanvasis. We wish the party should also have made its stand clear on two more issues?migration of Vanvasis from the mines or dam sites and electricity connections to all Vanvasi families. The migrants should get the compensation at the earliest and every Vanvasi family should get an electricity connection at cheaper rates as has been done in Himachal Pradesh,? says Shri Kripa Prasad Singh, joint general secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram.
Shri Sunil Ambekar, national organising secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) welcomed the party'sstand on detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators and strengthening the border posts. ?The economic slowdown has not affected the employment opportunities in IT sector alone but in all the fields. There should be a complete package to support other sectors too. We feel the issue of black money should be taken-up by all the political parties and there should be a concrete mechanism to bring back the money from Swiss banks,? he said. Expressing concern over the growing commercialisation of education, Shri Ambekar said about 30-40 per cent seats in all the private colleges should be reserved for meritorious students and the fees charged for those seats should be equal to the government colleges. All the political parties should clear their stand on this issue. He also appealed to the BJP to look into the highly poor condition of the hostels built for SC/ST students in different parts of the country.
Shri K Lakshma Reddy, general secretary of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, welcomed the promises of employment generation and raising the limit of income tax up to rupees three lakh. ?We have been demanding it for the last so many years. The promises made by the party for the betterment of labourers have developed a hope in crores of labourers across the country. At the same time we expect the BJP to assure the labourers the formation of Workers? Bank. Their Rs 2.60,000 crore PF contribution should be used as corpus fund for this proposed bank and instead of investing this money in other banks or government schemes it should be used for betterment of the workers.
Shri Dinesh Kulkarni, organising secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, welcomed the promise of loans to farmers on the rate of four per cent as well as the promise of non-acquirement of fertile land for SEZ. ?It is a good manifesto with regard to the farmers. We want the party to make its stand clear on some more issues also like separate budget for agriculture and fixation of prices of agriculture products as per the cost of production.
Shri Dina Nath Batra, national convener of Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti, welcomed the proposal of value-based education. ?We welcome this proposal made in the manifesto. We hope the party should keep in mind some more issues related to the education. There should be an autonomous corporation for writing and publishing school textbooks. The NCERT has highly been politicised and the country cannot expect fair deal on its part. A separate Indian Education Service (IES) should be started for producing highly qualified educationists. Since schools remain open only 220 days out of the total 365 days the students should be encouraged to do some social service during holidays. There are lakhs of rare manuscripts also, which need immediate preservation,? he added.
