AIZWAL: BJP president JP Nadda on Friday released his party's manifesto for the assembly elections in Mizoram, making a host of promises, including a 33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs and an investigation of a social welfare scheme of the MNF government.
The spotlight is on the drug menace as Mizoram braces for the November 7 Assembly elections. The BJP on Friday promised a drug-free Mizoram if voted to power in the landlocked state.
Releasing the election manifesto, Nadda said the party would launch “operation drug-free Mizoram” to curb drug addiction among youth across the state.
The drug menace assumes alarming proportions in Mizoram. According to the state’s Excise and Narcotics Department, drugs killed 1,794 people since 1984. The figure this year stands at 58.
Drugs, manufactured in Myanmar, are often smuggled into India through the porous international border. Mizoram – as well as Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh – shares a border with the neighbouring country.
During his recent visit to the state, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had attacked the Zoramthanga government on issues including drugs.
“Drugs are spreading rampantly across the future generation,” he had stated.
The BJP made a series of promises to woo voters, particularly women, considering that they outnumber their male counterparts. The party promised 33 per cent reservation for women in all government jobs, free quality education to all girl students from the level of kindergarten to post-graduation, free scooty to meritorious class 12 girl students etc.
The BJP also promised a budget of Rs 250 crore to revamp the government schools and Rs 350 crore to build new government colleges and revamp the existing ones.
Mizoram has been for years embroiled in a bitter border dispute with Assam and Nadda assured that the BJP would try to resolve it by collaborating with the central and Assam governments.
“We will provide employment and self-employment opportunities to at least one member of every household and double the per-family annual health insurance from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh under Ayushman Bharat,” the BJP president said.
He also stated that the party would introduce Mizoram Agri-Infra Mission with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore to revamp agricultural infrastructure at all levels
“We will establish the Mizoram Sports Academy, providing fully-funded scholarships to aspiring athletes with a strong emphasis on football, weightlifting, hockey, wrestling and badminton,” Nadda said.
The party promised to release a White Paper on fiscal mismanagement that occurred during the current administration and set up a special investigation team to probe the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Socio-Economic Development Project by the state government.
Polling for the 40-member Mizoram assembly will be held on November 7, and the counting of votes will take place on December 3.
The BJP had won just one seat in the 2018 elections and is trying hard to leave a footprint in the state this election. It is contesting 23 of the state’s 40 seats.
(With additional inputs from PTI)
