BJP releases manifesto for Delhi polls, mitigating air and water pollution top focus – assembly elections

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday launched its manifesto for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. The top focus for the party, as mentioned in the ‘Sankalp Patra’ is mitigating air and water pollution in the national capital.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said that the manifesto focuses on giving the city-state a corruption free, transparent government. “This has been the hallmark of Modi government at the Centre,” said Tiwari. “Half of the ministers and MLAs in the current government are either on bail or are facing charges. We will change this scenario.”

“The BJP, if voted to power, will create a Colony Development Board, for regularisation of societies,” he further said and added that this will be the prime focus of the party. Regularisation of colonies has seen a lot of verbal attacks between the ruling AAP in Delhi and the BJP. While AAP credits itself for launching the scheme to regularise thee colonies, the BJP accuses the Arvind Kejriwal-led party of hijacking their scheme.

Tiwari further said that the BJP is promising that it will turn lease hold property of traders in Delhi into freehold within a year of coming into power. “It will benefit 10 lakh traders,” he said.

Tiwari also talked about finding legal ways to end sealing in Delhi, and promised to offer flour (atta) at Rs 2 per kg to poor. “Though the raw material wheat is offered at Rs 2 per kg, a poor person has to spend Rs 5 per kg in grinding it. So, we promise to offer flour at Rs 2 per kg to poor,” the Delhi BJP chief said.

Earlier, Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who was also present at the manifesto launch function, said that the top priority for the party is tackling air and water pollution.

Gadkari said that BJP-led government at the Centre is committed to bring down the level of pollutants in our rivers, and so it launched the ‘Namami Gange’ programme. “When we launched the project, it came to our notice that other rivers and tributaries which merge into Ganga also need to be cleaned. We approved 13 projects worth Rs 6,000 crore just to clean Yamuna (which passes through Delhi),” said Gadkari.

The central government also allocated Rs 55,000 crore to clean the air in and around Delhi. Part of this effort can be seen in the form of two major road projects – the Western Peripheral Expressway and the Eastern Peripheral Expressway – Gadkari said, which has considerably reduced the direct traffic entering Delhi, thereby reducing pollution in the city.

“Delhi is the heart of the country, it is the pride of the entire country. The country’s history is linked with Delhi, and so is BJP’s as many of our leaders have worked hard in Delhi before coming on the national stage,” said Gadkari.

“Whenever we got chance, we have changed the future of Delhi, whether it was during Atal Bihar Vajpayee government or presently, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Gadkari added.

Elections will be held on 70 Assembly seats in Delhi on February 8, 2020, and the counting will take place on February 11. The BJP is hoping to come back to power in the national capital after two decades. The ruling AAP, meanwhile, has promised to better its performance of winning 67 of the 70 seats in 2015. The rest of the three seats were won by the BJP.