The Hindu : New Delhi News : BJP harps on `ills' of Sheila regime

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 31, 2007
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New Delhi

BJP harps on `ills' of Sheila regime

Staff Reporter

Manifesto promises crackdown on corruption, relief to slum dwellers and multipurpose identity cards

Delhi BJP chief Dr. Harsh Vardhan along with Vijay Kumar Malhotra (right) and O.P. Kohli releasing the party manifesto for MCD polls in the Capital on Friday. PHOTO: Anu Pushkarna

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party in its manifesto for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections has promised to issue multipurpose identity cards, abolish the discretionary powers of Councillors and officials, make the machinery to punish the corrupt persons accountable, provide basic amenities to all the unauthorised colonies without any charges and give 50 per cent exemption in power and drinking water charges to slum clusters within a fixed limit.

The manifesto, which has over five dozen commitments, was jointly issued by the chairman of the Election Campaign Committee, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, chairman of the Election Manifesto Committee O.P. Kohli, and Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan on Friday in the presence of former Members of Parliament Sahib Singh Verma, Vijay Goel, Lal Behari Tiwari, Anita Arya, Leader of the Opposition in Delhi State Assembly Jagdish Mukhi and Leader of the Opposition in MCD Subhash Arya. The three leaders accused the Congress of doing injustice to the people during its five-year rule in the MCD. They announced 23 important resolutions contained in the manifesto. Prof. Malhotra said persons living in slums would also be provided with a 25-yard plot or flat near their existing habitations and villages and slums would also be provided with basic civic amenities. The BJP leaders said illegal Bangladesh nationals would be driven out of Delhi and illegal Pakistanis hiding in the city would be searched and deported. They also urged that Delhi be made a full-fledged State and a separate Corporation be created for the development of the trans-Yamuna area.

The BJP has also promised that categorisation of A, B, C and D category colonies for house tax purposes will be done again, house tax will be decreased and unnecessary taxes will be abolished. Moreover, it said, a dispensary, community centre, old age home and women's hostel would be constructed in each ward and aided schools, charitable hospitals, dharamshalas, old age homes, temples, mosques and gurdwaras would be allotted land on reserved price. The party has also promised to make Delhi clean ridding it of all garbage and filth.

Sticking to its religious beliefs, the BJP has also declared that the Yamuna would be made sacred and worth worshipping again. Also, the party said the National Song, Vande Mataram, would be sung in every school; it would be ensured that every child attends school; and sports, yoga and moral education would be made compulsory.

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