The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday vowed to bring the Uniform Civil Code to Himachal Pradesh if elected. Releasing the document in Shimla, party president JP Nadda said that the Sankalp Patra is not merely an election manifesto, but a “roadmap for the development, growth and progress” of the hill state.
While it was highly anticipated that the party will tackle the Old Pension Scheme, the BJP in the 11 points of its Sankalp Patra simply said that it will “resolve the discrepancies in the remuneration of government employees”. The BJP’s manifesto came a day after the Congress released its own, where it promised to implement the OPS within 10 days of coming to power.
The BJP in its manifesto also promised a survey of Wakf Board properties and a Commission to look at cases involving these properties. “The BJP government will conduct the survey of Wakf properties as per the law and set up a Judicial Commission to investigate the illegal usage of such properties,” said the manifesto.
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In April, in an earlier interaction with DH, CM Jai Ram Thakur said that a team was looking at the feasibility of the UCC. “Officials are studying the issue; we will have to see how does it fit in in the context of our state,” Thakur had said in April.
Apart from that the party also introduced a set of promises especially for women and girls, promising bicycles for young girls, increasing financial support for the marriage of girls belonging to BPL families from the existing Rs 31,000 to Rs 51,000, and giving Rs 25,000 to pregnant women, among others.
The BJP also promised Rs 3,000 annually to small farmers, over and above the Rs 6,000 under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, and more than 8 lakh jobs in a phased manner.
Another key promise is Rs 12,000 crore over a period of 10 years to develop transportation and physical infrastructure around all prominent temples. For apple growers, the BJP has promised that the GST payment on apple packaging material up to 12 per cent, and any additional GST cost on packaging will be borne by the state government. The GST on apple packaging was a flashpoint among apple growers in the run-up to the elections.
On the other hand, Congress in its manifesto has promised free electricity of up to 300 units monthly to all households, and financial assistance of Rs 1,500 monthly to women between 18 to 60 years of age.