Madhya Pradesh polls: BJP promises safety, better healthcare in separate manifesto for women
In its main election manifesto, the ruling party promised to create 10 lakh new jobs per year if re-elected.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday promised a sensitisation programme for men to ensure the “safety and dignity of women” if it wins the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, reported The Indian Express. The ruling party made the promise in a separate manifesto for women, which it released along with the election manifesto. The state goes to polls on November 28.
In the separate manifesto, the party vowed to improve women’s access to education, health facilities and job opportunities in the state if it gets re-elected. The BJP has promised to provide full financial assistance to women who are unable to conceive naturally and want to undergo in vitro fertilisation, ANI reported.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan released the documents at an event in Bhopal. Among other promises, the ruling party has promised to create 10 lakh new jobs per year, a mechanism to ensure fair inquiries into cases related to caste violence, bonuses for farmers who do not sell their produce in mandis, and two-wheelers for girls who score 75% marks or above in Class 12.
In his address at the event, Jaitley criticised the previous Congress government in the state. “The Congress lost the election in 2003, the situation in which the Congress left Madhya Pradesh, just think about it... even in cities, there used to be no water, electricity and roads,” NDTV quoted Jaitley as saying. The finance minister praised Chouhan’s administration for undertaking the “development projects” in the state.
After the release of the manifesto, Jaitley defended the central government’s move to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes in 2016. “It [demonetisation] was a highly ethical move,” Jaitley said while replying to queries about the decision. “It was not a political move.”
The election results will be declared on December 11.