Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi along with senior party leaders on Monday released BJP's manifesto for the 2012 Assembly election which promised five million new houses, drinking water and insurance cover for all, forward and backward integration for farmers of the state and a youth-led development.
In the manifesto BJP has estimated cost of its vision to develop Gujarat to be Rs 3 lakh crore over the next five years. This vision of the party envisions Gujarat to become a global hub for auto, solar energy and a logistic gateway of India.
"What we have put before you is the blue print of Gujarat for the coming five years. This is not merely a promise before the election, but our commitment to the people of the state. It is for this reason we have not only explained over vision but also chalked out a detailed action plan to fulfill it," Modi said after unveiling the party's manifesto for the state elections which will be held on December 13 and 17.
He said that in the manifesto his party has taken special care of the neo-middle class that has emerged over the last 10 years. By neo-middle class Modi meant a class of people who have come out of poverty because of development in the state.
"Manifesto is a serious issue for us as we are the ruling party. Had we been in the opposition it would have been different issue. We are committing ourselves to work towards fulfilling every word in written in the document," Gujarat chief minister said.
Modi promised that they would add 5 million new houses for various categories of population if elected for another term. "In the last 10 years we have built 22 lakh houses as we had promised. In the next five years we promise to built 5 million houses under the Chief Minister's Gruh Samridhi Yojna. Out of this 2.8 million would be in rural areas, while 2.2 million would be in urban regions with a estimated cost of Rs 33,000 crore," said Modi.
Claiming that rural development was the core of the manifesto, Modi said that land under irrigation would be increased to 16 lakh hectares and an irrigation scheme specially for the tribal areas. "Farmers in Gujarat need forward and backward integration. For this we plan to develop a district network of cold storages and agro-processing units, besides holding biannual international agriculture fare with focus on new and evolving technologies in the sector," he added. Modi also promised that his government would share the interest burden for agriculture loans.
The manifesto promised youth led development, with emphasis on strengthening skill, scale and speed. It has also promised that government would become bank loan guarantors for youth who want to float their own ventures.
When asked about step that his government would take to curb inflation, Modi said that it was for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to answer.
Further, when asked about timing of Central governments move last week to launch the Aadhar- based direct cash transfer scheme, the Gujarat chief minister refused to comment saying that the matter was not with the Election Commission of India (ECI), but quipped, "Government (Union) could have waited (if it wanted) 20 days for the announcement."
On foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail Modi claimed that the Union government had violated the process followed in a Federal structure by not seeking opinions of the state governments before allowing 51% FDI in multi-brand retail.
| BJP promises |
| Sharing interest burden on farmer loans |
| Addln 16 lakh ha of land to be covered under irrigation |
| Special focus on expanding area under agriculture |
| Build 50 lakh houses including 2.8 mn in rural area; 2.2 mn in urban area |
| Insurance cover to all citizens against accidental death, permanent disability |
| > 30 lakh employment generation with development of industrial, service sector |
| Set up lake, wetland development authority |
| District network of cold storages and agro-processing units |
| Double power generation to 30,000 MW from present 15,000 MW |
| Introduce Right to Services Act |
| Develop 13 special investment regions (SIRs) |
