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BJP promises farm loan waiver of up to ₹1 lakh

Party manifesto has farmers as its target and makes efforts to woo OBCs, SCs and STs; it also promises State-level women’s cooperative

With an eye on rural voters, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday promised to waive loans of farmers up to ₹1 lakh from both nationalised and co-operative banks if voted to power.

The BJP’s election manifesto titled Namma Karnatakakke Namma Vachana (Our promise to our Karnataka) focusses heavily on the farm sector besides making efforts to woo Dalits and OBCs.

BJP’s chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa, who released the manifesto here, declared that the decision on loan waiver would be taken in the very first Cabinet meeting if voted to power. He also promised to close down the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) that works under the Chief Minister and take steps to strengthen the Lokayukta institution in the first Cabinet meeting.

Smartphones to women

The manifesto has several schemes, including providing free smartphones to women of all BPL families and laptops to all the college students.

In addition to loan waiver, the manifesto has also promised to provide minimum support prices (MSPs) to the tune of 1.5 times the cost of production to farmers besides setting up a ₹5,000 crore revolving fund to facilitate market intervention during the times of crash in price of produce.

It has also promised to provide an incentive of ₹10,000 each to 20 lakh small and marginal farmers from dryland areas under Negila Yogi scheme besides sending 1,000 farmers every year on a study visit to countries such as Israel and China.

With respect to women’s empowerment, the manifesto has promised to set up a mega State-level women’s cooperative that would sell its products at district and taluk centres by spending ₹10,000 crore. The BJP, which has made crimes against women an election issue, has also promised to constitute a special investigation cell which will not only have 1,000 police women but also be headed by a woman police officer.

Wooing Dalits

In an effort to woo Dalits, the party has promised to earmark ₹3,000 crore and ₹1,500 crore respectively for providing scholarships to SC and ST students to study abroad and also pay fees towards educational courses in nationally reputed institutes.

For OBCs, it has promised 1,000 crore fund to incentivise traditional occupations and ₹7,500 crore for building housing complexes besides waiving loans of weavers up to ₹1 lakh.

The manifesto has declared that a proposal would be taken before the Centre to ban outfits such as the Popular Front of India.

Temples’ revenues not to be diverted

The BJP, in its election manifesto, has stuck to Hindutva agenda on some issues. In tune with the campaign that had been launched by various Hinduva groups, the manifesto promises that the party would ensure that revenue from temples is used “only and fully” for expenditure on temples and religious activities. The manifesto says the party would set up a ₹500 crore fund for restoration and renovation of temples and mutts. The party said it would reintroduce the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation Bill 2012 and also re-establish the ‘Gau Seva Ayoga’ set up by its erstwhile government, if voted to power.

Bhagya schemes, Indira canteens with new names

The BJP appears to have promised alternatives to some of the flagship programmes of the Congress government, with the names changed.

As an alternative to Anna Bhagya, it wants Anna Dasoha scheme that offers free region-specific food items to BPL families and subsidised food items to APL families.

In what appears to be a broader alternative to the Shaadi Bhagya scheme of the Congress government, the manifesto promises Vivaha Mangala Yojane under which poor women of all communities would get ₹25,000 cash assistance and 3 gm of gold for their marriage.

Similarly, as an alternative to the subsidised Indira canteens, the BJP manifesto promises to set up 300 Mukhyamantri Annapoorna canteens at a rate of three in every district and one in each taluk centre, to provide quality and affordable meals, with a focus on region-specific food.