Prime Minister Narendra Modi 14 April released the BJP’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, highlighting his vision for ‘Viksit Bharat’ as he urged the people to give another mandate to his party to shape India’s ‘destiny’ for the next 1,000 years. Named ‘Modi ki Guarantee,’ the manifesto focuses on expanding the government’s current welfare programmes. “I had said from the ramparts of the Red Fort that ‘Yahi Samay hai, Sahi Samay hai’ to shape India’s destiny for the next 1,000 years…I present this Sankalp Patra to the people of the country as ‘Modi ki guarantee’ for their blessings. The country’s 140 crore people’s ambition is Modi’s mission,” the Prime Minister said.
The document reaffirms the party’s commitment to implementing its staple issues – one nation, one election and Uniform Civil Code. Additionally, it promises bullet trains in the country’s north, south and east and “new age” trains like Vande Bharat, Amrit Bharat and Namo Bharat. Surprisingly, the manifesto has no mention of the contentious National Register for Citizens (NRC), which the party had promised in 2019 to check illegal infiltration, but had to beat a hasty retreat in the face of nationwide protests. While chairman of the party’s manifesto committee Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has equated “Modi ki guarantee” to “24 carat gold,” the Opposition is not amused as it questioned the absence of any reference to basic issues like unemployment, inflation and poverty in the document.
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Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said: “Two words are missing from the BJP’s manifesto and Narendra Modi’s speech — inflation and unemployment.” Similarly, trashing the BJP manifesto, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge termed it a “warranty of jumlas.” It is pertinent to note here that the party has failed to fulfil its previous commitments regarding creation of two crore jobs every year, doubling of farmers’ income, controlling inflation and bringing back black money stashed abroad. Nobody in the ruling dispensation these days is talking about these issues even after 10 years of incumbency, even as numerous reports from institutions of repute have flagged the problems of unemployment, inequality and multi-dimensional poverty in India. There is no point talking about 2047 or the next millennium when the present times are replete with hardships for the common people. Inflation and unemployment have already taken a huge toll on the economy, while the poison of communalism is threatening to rip apart the country’s social fabric. India is among the world’s most unequal countries where the gulf between the rich and the poor is forever widening. Our educated youths are not getting jobs, while our farmers are a distressed lot.
Superficial things like bullet trains and “new age” trains have no meaning for the millions languishing in poverty. That a large chunk of the population is in poverty is evident from the government’s extending of the free ration scheme by five more years. The party that is targeting 370 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls has nothing tangible to offer to the country’s common people who are already burdened under an unprecedented cost of living crisis. In this scenario, terms like ‘Viksit Bharat,’ ‘Yuva Shakti,’ ‘Nari Shakti,’ are mere rhetoric for the woman/man on the street.
