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Journalism of Courage
Four days ahead of the first phase of assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday announced the BJP’s election manifesto. Barring a few promises that are exclusive to the Congress – such as loan waiver for farmers and free education from kindergarten to post-graduation announced – the BJP manifesto matches or goes above and beyond several promises made by the ruling party in the state.
The first major announcement made by Shah, who is in Raipur, was procuring 21 quintals of paddy per acre at Rs 3,131. The Congress had announced procurement of 20 quintals of paddy per acre at Rs 3,000.
The second promise by the BJP is providing LPG cylinders for Rs 500, similar to the promise made by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi recently.
The third promise is financial assistance to 18 lakh poor people under the Awas Yojna, while Congress made a similar announcement for 17.50 lakh people
Other promises made by the BJP include tap water in every house and.buying tendu leaves at a lucrative price.
The Congress recently announced that landless farmers will get Rs 10,000, and free health coverage will be increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. As part of its health push, the BJP promised 500 new medical shops across the state to provide subsidised medicines.
