Terrorism was wiped out from Punjab in the mid 1990s. But the BJP manifesto for Punjab, released by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely at Jalandhar on Sunday, promises Rs 5 lakh relief to every family that was affected by terrorism!
And it promises a group housing scheme for journalists!
Largely like the Congress manifesto, the BJP also promises free education for girls upto the PhD level and a job for every family.
The saffron party that is fighting these elections along with its traditional ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal, has also said if voted to power, they will raise the retirement age of government employees, now 58 years, to 60 and set up the 7th Pay Commission for them.
While the manifesto mentions the Vajpayee-era decision to set up institutes like the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, the reality is that five like the PGIMER is far too many for a tiny state like Punjab. The established institute in Chandigarh has been saying there is paucity of faculty to teach in the existing colleges.
While the biggest woe of Punjab is the fleeing of investments out of the state, and slowing down of industry, particularly the MSMEs, Jaitely maintained the manifesto was based on the infrastructure and social upliftment of the people of Punjab. He also mentioned the GST, and said the revenue of the state governments would increase once it is implemented this July.
The BJP is contesting 23, largely Hindu dominated seats, out of the total of 117. The senior partner, SAD, will fight the rest.
