Lucknow: Azad Samaj Party (ASP) chief Chandrashekhar Azad released the party manifesto for the upcoming UP Assembly Polls on Friday. He has recently announced that he will be contesting the elections from the Gorakhpur constituency, giving a direct competition to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
In the manifesto, Azad has made 22 promises for various marginalised sections, including 85 per cent reservation for Dalits, backwards and minorities in private sector jobs, along with the enactment of a mob lynching law.
Besides this, Chandrashekhar has also mentioned the 'Beti Yojana', wherein the party is reassuring Rs18,000 annually to girls belonging to Dalit, OBC and minority communities, in addition to Rs12,000 and 6 gas cylinders annually to the women between the age of 26 to 50 years under the 'Bahan Scheme'.
The manifesto also guarantees that quality health and education will be free for all, whereas pension schemes for elederly will also be implemented.
It also puts the limelight on the agricultural problems in the state while promising that all types of agricultural loans will be waived, fertilisers and seeds will be given free of cost to all the farmers. MSP law on all crops will be implemented within 10 days of coming to power. Additionally, a 50% subsidy will be levied on the purchase of equipment used in agriculture, while farmers' markets will also be set up in every village and Nagar Panchayat. Moreover, the electricity bill for irrigation to the farmers, all the outstanding electricity and water bills will be waived off, the manifesto says.
It further focuses on the problem of unemployment while promising government jobs to 20% of the youth and employment opportunities to around 80 lakh youth. It states that the provision of reservation and regularisation after 5 years will also be applicable in the appointments of group C and D contractual workers and the concerned proposal will be passed immediately on the transfer of all the employees appointed in the government department to the home district. On the basis of the caste census, the government will bring a bill to give a proportional representation of castes in administration, power, government jobs and government contracts, as promised by the ASP manifesto.
Apart from the 'Beti Yojana', 'Bahan Yojana' and the 'Yuva Yojana', the manifesto also promises a 'Beta Yojana', under which every youth between 18 to 25 years of age belonging to the Dalit, backward tribal and minority class will be given a laptop and an annual stipend of Rs 18,000. Youth of 26 to 50 years of this class will either be given a job or an annual unemployment allowance of Rs 18000, with the same amount for men above 50 years of age.
Government business centres will be set up in rural areas to help the small and middle-class traders, while 3% of the state GST rate will be given to the traders of these categories, along with a restriction of the opening of malls in the cities. There will be interest-free loans for weavers, artisans, and small-scale industry businesspersons.
Diesel and petrol prices will be the cheapest in Uttar Pradesh, according to the manifesto. One university and hospital each will be opened in the name of the great men of the Bahujan Samaj in every circle. Swaminathan Commission report will be implemented by improving the land system.
The party also promises that it will make arrangements for reservations for Muslims by implementing the report of the Sachar Committee. Martyr status will be given if the sanitation worker dies while cleaning inside the sewer line, the manifesto says. Furthermore, to motivate the rural level sportspersons, small stadiums will be appointed at the village level, along with the facilitation of coaches, scholarships and reservation quotas in government jobs.
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