Good governance and ‘Ram Mandir’

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is making a determined bid to come to power in India under the leadership of its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, on Monday promised good governance and rapid economic development to the people in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.

The much-delayed manifesto, which outlines the party’s agenda for governance, however, also makes a reference to some controversial issues, including a reiteration of its stand to explore all possibilities within the framework of India’s Constitution to “facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya”.

In a brief section on ‘Cultural Heritage’, virtually at the end of the 42-page document, the party also pointed out that Article 44 of the Constitution listed a Uniform Civil Code as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy.

“BJP believes that there cannot be gender equality till such time India adopts a Uniform Civil Code, which protects the rights of all women, and the BJP reiterates its stand to draft a Uniform Civil Code, drawing upon the best traditions and harmonising them with the modern times,” it said.

On Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP reiterated its stand on Article 370 of the Constitution, which grants special autonomous status to the state, and said it would discuss it with all stakeholders and remained committed to the abrogation of the article.

Asserting that Jammu & Kashmir is and shall remain an integral part of India, it promised to pursue an equal and rapid development in all the three regions of the state. It said the return of Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir with full dignity, security and assured livelihood would figure high on its agenda.

The party also made it clear that it was opposed to foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail trading, a major policy initiative taken by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“Barring the multi-brand retail sector, FDI will be allowed in sectors wherever needed for job and asset creation, infrastructure and acquisition of niche technology and specialised expertise. BJP is committed to protecting the interest of small and medium retailers, SMEs and those employed by them,” it said.

Apart from Modi and Murli Manohar Joshi, the chairman of the party’s manifesto committee, other senior BJP leaders Lal Krishna Advani and Sushma Swaraj were present on the occasion, presenting a united face and seeking to allay the impression that the delay in coming out with the document pointed to differences on its contents within the top leadership.

Normally, major political parties release their election manifestos about two weeks before the start of polling. The fact that it was released today after polling had begun in parts of Assam and Tripura in the North-East in the first phase of voting meant that television coverage of the event was blocked in part of that country in keeping with Election Commission guidelines.

All the same, the Congress lodged a complaint with the Election Commission on the release of the document while polling was on, arguing that it was in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

The Congress also criticised the manifesto, saying that it underlined the BJP’s basic agenda of communal politics. It also said that many parts of the manifesto were just a rehash of the Congress’s policies and programmes.

The manifesto said that the last 10 years of rule by the UPA was a “decade of decay” and that India had a free fall on all fronts — governance, economy, diplomacy, foreign policy, border safety, etc.”

“Things must change, and they must change now. BJP will take immediate and decisive action to address these issues on a priority basis,” the manifesto said.

Among other things, it promised to act promptly to rein in inflation by acting against hoarding and blackmarketing of essential commodities, setting up a Price Stabilisation Fund and evolving a single National Agriculture Market. It also promised to promote employment and entrepreneurship by strategically developing labour-intensive manufacturing, tourism, agro-industries and retail trading. The party said it would harness the job-generating potential of the infrastructure and housing sectors.

The BJP said it would eliminate the scope for corruption through public awareness, technology enabled e-governance, system-based, policy-driven governance, rationalisation and simplification of the tax regime and simplification of the processes and procedures at all levels.

It said this would minimise the generation of black money and committed itself to initiate the process of tracking down and bringing back black money stashed away in foreign banks.

The BJP said it would improve delivery of services by government agencies and restore the credibility of, and trust in, the Union Government. It promised to strengthen Centre-State relations and said ‘Team India’ would not only include the Prime Minister and his colleagues in Delhi but also the chief ministers of States and other functionaries as equal partners. The party said it would ensure fiscal autonomy of states, while urging financial discipline, create regional councils of states, encourage cooperation among them on security-related issues and in other areas, and pay special attention to the needs of small states and hill and desert states.

It said moribund fora such as the National Development Council and Inter-State Council would be revived into active bodies.

Stating that everyone was free to voice his or her concerns in a democracy and that it was necessary that these voices are heard and concerns redressed, the manifesto said all this should happen within the framework of the Constitution and with the spirit of “India First”.“Any activity which disrupts the integrity of the nation cannot be in the interest of any segment of the society or any region of the country. All Indians living in different regions of the country have an equal stake in the progress of the country and they have to be assured of the fruits of the progress,” it said.

The manifesto accused the UPA government of failing to address the issue of national security, “leading to a chaotic situation and denting India’s image in the international arena”.

“India has a sensitive neighbourhood and there are internal security issues. There have been intrusions inside the LAC (Line of actual control), loss of squadrons of combat aircraft by the air force, witnessing of a series of accidents by the Navy, leading to a loss in its combating capability built over many decades, communal riots, Maoist attacks, increase in incidence of Pakistan-backed terror groups in India, illegal immigration across the eastern border, and racists’ attacks in the national capital.

“All these are indications of surrendering of India’s interest. This calls for a review and overhauling of the current system. With the financial situation worsening, the issue of national security can acquire a horrifying dimension,” it said.

The manifesto promised to revive the anti-terror mechanism that has been dismantled by the Congress, strengthen the role of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and put a system in place for swift and fair trial of terror related cases. It said it would reform the National Security Council to make it the hub of all sector-related assessments.

The BJP also said it would address the issue of reforms with regard to defence equipment, support services, organisational reforms and other related matters.

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• India