Mizoram Assembly Elections: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda on Friday released the party's manifesto or 'Vision Document 2023' for the Mizoram Assembly elections. Nadda released the manifesto document during a ceremony at the party's state head office in Aizawl.
The BJP has pledged to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in all government jobs, Mizoram Sports Academy, and to increase health insurance coverage from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh under Ayushman Bharat among others.
Here's what JP Nadda promised:
Speaking at an event in Aizawl, Nadda said that 'Vision Document 2023' is a well-researched document. "Many political parties come out with their vision document, their mission document, their manifesto, but we find them to be a mere piece of paper because even they are not very sure whether they are going to pursue that, vision or mission or commitment. But when BJP go for a vision document, it is a well-researched document. It is a document which always undertakes and undergoes, the financial part of it. Our people have done detailed research on it, and then they have come out with this vision document," he said.
BJP would also construct a Mizoram Sports Academy with scholarships for aspiring athletes and set up a Mizoram Olympic Mission. "We also commit to our vision that we will establish a Mizoram Sports Academy, which will be fully funded and with a scholarship for aspiring athletes with a strong emphasis on football wrestling, weight lifting, and hockey. We will launch the Mizoram Olympic Mission to establish Mizoram as a leading sporting state. This is called inclusive growth and inclusive development," said Nadda.
'Drug-Free Mizoram'
The BJP chief said that the party will launch an operation called Drug-Free Mizoram to control and eradicate drug addiction among youngsters if it comes to power. "BJP's vision document says that we launch an operation, Drug-Free Mizoram, to curb the drug addiction amongst the youth across the state," he said.
Nadda also announced that the BJP would initiate two missions, namely the "Mizoram Education Upgrade" and "Zirlai Simathawana Mission," with the aim of improving the quality of government schools and colleges. These programs will receive funding of up to Rs 250 crore and Rs 350 crore, respectively.
"We will establish a special investigation team to probe all irregularities and corruption in the implementation of SEDP. We will collaborate with the Central government and Assam government to resolve the long-standing border dispute and safeguard the interests and rights," he said.
He mentioned that there will be collaboration with the Central government to transform Zoram Medical College into a Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS). Nadda further said that they would introduce the Queen Ropuiliani Women Empowerment Scheme whereby every girl child will be offered a cumulative financial assistance to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakhs. "The BJP would reserve 33 per cent jobs for women in the government sector," he said.
Nadda declared that the BJP would raise the annual health insurance coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme from 5 lakhs to 10 lakhs. He also stated that the annual financial assistance for farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme would be increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000. Additionally, the BJP plans to introduce the Mizo Agri Mission, investing Rs 1,000 crores to overhaul the agricultural infrastructure at all levels in Mizoram.
Nadda on vote bank politics
Taking dig at Opposition parties, Nadda said that BJP believes in the politics of report card and not in vote bank politics.
"We believe in report card politics. The political culture of the country has been changed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Initially, people used to fight elections on the basis of religion, caste, creed, area, and region. These were the factors, and they used to collect votes. And there was a politics of the vote bank, which we called Vote Bank Politics," he said.
"But since Prime Minister Modi has come, the definition of politics has changed. Now the definition of politics is politics of performance, politics of accountability, politics of development, politics of developing every area, every region, each cast, and every creed. There should not be any gender discrimination. There should not be any caste discrimination. There should not be any regional discrimination. And with that, we have worked and gone forward," Nadda added.
Talking about country's economy, the BJP leader said that today India is the only bright spot, and it is a stable economy which is going forward. "I would also like to share with you that India was considered to be a fragile economy. Today not only me, but even the best economic leaders are of the opinion that India is the only bright spot, and it is a stable economy which is going forward. And when I say so, I would also like to share with you that countries like America, Australia, Japan, and Europe, are having problems with the economy, but the IMF says that India is a stable economy and a fastest-growing economy. All this has happened in the past 9 years."
Mizoram Assembly Elections
Mizoram will vote on November 7 to elect the representatives for its 40-member strong state Assembly. The main political parties in Mizoram are the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), the Congress, the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The MNF, Congress and ZPM are contesting all 40 Assembly constituencies, while the BJP has fielded only 23 candidates.
In the 2018 Mizoram Assembly Election, the MNF formed the government with 27 MLAs, while the Congress was decimated in the state and won only 5 seats. The BJP was successful in opening its account in the state for the first time when its candidate Buddha Dhan Chakma won the Tuichawng seat for the first time. The MNF received 37.70 per cent of votes in the state. The Congress and the BJP received 29.98 per cent and 8.09 per cent of votes respectively in the state.
Also Read: Mizoram Assembly polls: 3,000 police personnel, over 5,000 central forces to be deployed
