No Farm Loan Waiver, No Job Quotas: BJP’s ‘Realistic’ Manifesto For Haryana Polls Contrasts With Congress’s Populism

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday (13 October) released its manifesto for the Haryana Assembly polls with no promise to waive farm debt or to introduce job reservations, saying it is more realistic and practical than its rival Congress's populist manifesto.

The 25-page manifesto titled 'Mhare Sapne Ka Haryana', which the party described 'Sankalp Patra', was released in the presence of BJP working President J P Nadda, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and senior party leaders here.

The manifesto focuses on farmers, labourers and industrialists.

Khattar said the manifesto of the Congress with focus on loan waiver to farmers and job reservations to women was unrealistic as it needed Rs 1,26,000 crore to fulfill the poll promise.

"It is totally unrealistic with no budgetary provisions. Our manifesto needs a budget allocation of Rs 32,000 crore that can be easily meted out through state funds," Khattar told the media.

He said his government would give benefits to farmers in the form of better prices for their produce.

With the promise of loan waiver to farmers and job reservations to women, the Congress in its manifesto had promised 33 per cent job quota for women in the government sector, cash incentives to educated jobless youth apart from farm loan waiver within 24 hours of coming to power.

In the BJP manifesto, there is no promise to waive farm debt but there is a promise to compensate the farmers for damage to the crops due to natural calamities.

Khattar has also said that the BJP manifesto is based on the principles of Ram Rajya. The manifesto addresses a number of other issues as well, from the safety of girls to creating more job opportunities for the state’s residents.

Haryana’s assembly elections will take place on 21 October.

(With inputs from IANS.)