Eyeing at least 22 out of 27 seats in the upcoming Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections, BJP has come up with more than expected promises to the people.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday released its election manifesto for the upcoming Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections.
Assam Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, national general secretary Dilip Saikia and state BJP president Ranjit Kumar Dass released the manifesto in Kokrajhar.
The BJP manifesto was a bouquet of promises to people of Bodoland.
After releasing the manifesto, Sarma said the BJP is duty bound to implement all the clauses of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) Accord, including inclusion and exclusion of villages.
The BJP announced that the Village Council Development Committee (VCDC) system will be abolished and a three tier Panchayati system will be introduced in Bodoland.
The saffron party promised all round development in BTC, including 4,000 km of road if voted to power.
It announced that Tamulpur will be made a separate district, curving out of present Baksa district.
Targeting the young voters, the BJP has made a lot of promises — Bodoland University campus at Udalguri and government colleges will be set up in each sub-division of BTC.
The Central Selection Board will be abolished and there will be 10 per cent reservation for economically backward people in all government posts in BTC, Sarma claimed.
To woo support of the sports-loving Bodos, he promised 40 new stadiums in all the constituencies, and would allocate Rs 10 lakhs each.
The health minister said a new medical college will be set up at Tamulpur in Baksa district.
He also promised to set up 30-bedded hospitals in all the 40 constituencies of BTC.
Sarma promised to fund 50 places of worships like namghar and temples in BTC if the BJP comes to power.
The minister also stated that if the BJP comes to power, buying and selling of land will be made easy and the process will be made so that one can buy or sell his or her land within 15-30 days.
Eyeing the minority vote bank, Sarma said probes will be carried out into each political assassination in BTC, and the death of ABMSU leader Lafikul Ali will be probed within 2-3 months if BJP comes to power.
Attacking the BPF of misrule and corruption, the minister said in the last 5 years the state government allocated a huge amount for the development of BTC, but the maximum amount was mis-utilized.
He said that in 2019-2020, under SOPD, Rs 671 crore was given to BTC, Assam state finance commission gave Rs 140 crore, and Rs 300 crore came as special package, while the Central government has provided Rs 2,000.
Sarma said the BPF did not utilize the development fund properly, and was involved in large-scale corruption.
The BJP leader expressed confidence of the party winning the BTC election, and taking over the reins of the council with absolute majority.
“We are winning at least 22 out of the 27 seats. One must not be surprised if we win in all 27 seats,” Sarma said.