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The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday unveiled an election manifesto for Tripura promising greater autonomy for the tribal council, as well as an increase in sops for farmers, women and girl-students.
However, the manifesto released by BJP president JP Nadda at a huge convention centre in front of its cadre instead of at the traditional press conference, remained silent about providing jobs to people or pension and dearness relief for the state's 1.9 lakh government employees.
Analysts saw the promises of greater autonomy to tribal areas as a bid to counter demands made by the newbie Tipra Motha party for a greater Tipraland and the sops as BJP's answer to promises made by the Trinamool Congress to bring in all benefits for farmers and women to Tripura.
Elections to the 60-member assembly in Tripura slated for February 16 are expected to be a three-cornered contest between the BJP, Tipra Motha and the Congress-Communist Party of India-Marexist combine.
“We will take Tripura on the path of DTH - development, transformation and harmony,” BJP president JP Nadda told a press conference after releasing the manifesto for the northeastern state.
The BJP also announced a Rs 5 meal scheme for all, named after religious guru Anukul Chandra, and setting up of a Regional Institute of Medical Sciences hospital in Agartala.
The manifesto said that the Balika Samriddhi bond of Rs 50,000 will be given to every girl child while the tribal language Kokborok will become subjects in CBSE and ICSE curricula.
Nadda said the party would give more legislative, executive and financial powers to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council, constituting two third of the state's geographic areas and home to the tribals, who form one-third of the state's estimated 40 lakh population.
The manifesto claimed the party will achieve “historic permanent political solutions” in a time-bound manner by taking all constitutional, legal, executive and administrative measures without affecting the territorial integrity of the council.
“For tribal areas, we will give greater autonomy including more legislative, executive and financial powers,” said BJP president Nadda while releasing the party manifesto for Tripura.
“We will ensure budgetary allocations to the Council in proportion to the population of its area and funds shall be transferred in a time-bound manner for holistic development and the Council will have the authority to send proposals related to centrally sponsored schemes directly to the Central government,” Nadda added.
He said senior IGP level officers will be posted in Council areas who will coordinate with the chief executive member of the council for better administration of law and order.
Nadda also promised a Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Tribal University to be set up in Gandacherra in Dhalai district to research, promote and preserve tribal culture and studies.
Besides, Customary Courts for tribals in the Council areas would be set up to protect and preserve the tribal customary laws and practices.
The BJP's promises for the Tribal areas seemed to have been made in an apparent bid to counter the popularity of Tipra Motha, said political analysts.
Tipra Motha in its manifesto released on February 5 promised to fight for a ‘Greater Tipraland' by carving out the tribal council area as well as areas elsewhere where Tiprasa tribals were in a majority as also a police force for the Council, 20,000 new jobs and a one-time package for militants who surrender.
The opposition CPI-M-led Left Front in Tripura had also promised 2.5 lakh new jobs, pension to poor senior citizens, and reintroduction of the old pension scheme besides DA for government employees twice every year, if voted to power.
However, The BJP's manifesto remained silent about giving jobs or a hike in DA for its 1,88,494 government employees and pensioners, possibly keeping in mind the costs in volved and the unviability of the old pension scheme which has bloated government's outflow on its staff in both the centre and the states.
The saffron party, which stormed to power in 2018 by ending decades of Marxist rule, had promised to provide 2.5 lakh jobs in its five years rule, but it remained more or less a promise on paper.
Asked about the lack of commitment on jobs, the chairman of the BJP manifesto committee, Dr Ashoke Sinha, said, “We have recently hiked DA for the employees and provided jobs for the unemployed. We are serious about the issue but do not want to make any false promise”.
Nadda during the release function also said, “We will set up industry-specific manufacturing zones based on rubber, Agar and bamboo”, which local BJP leaders showcased as an obvious promise to create more jobs in this landlocked state.
The BJP president also said,” The PM Kisan Samman Nidhi of Rs 6,000 will be raised with the state government providing Rs 2,000 more.” A bid to throw in sops for the poor in the largely agricultural state.