Uniform Civil Code, One Nation One Election, CAA and the world’s third largest economy… Here’s what all the BJP promised in its 2024 manifesto.
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00:00The BJP manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, titled Modi ki Guarantee,
00:05focuses on empowering women, the youth, the poor and farmers.
00:10There is a push for a robust infrastructure, strengthening the economy and welfare scheme.
00:20Here are a few key points that the PM guaranteed
00:23if the BJP comes back to power in 2024.
00:30Now it is impossible to stop this.
00:34Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his claim of making India
00:38the third largest economy in the world in his next term.
00:41The BJP said that in the last decade,
00:43they took India from fragile 5 to the top 5 economies.
00:47And how did they do this?
00:49Well, they said they strengthened the country's financial system,
00:52maintained fiscal prudence and increased foreign exchange reserves.
00:56The BJP considers the Uniform Civil Code as equally important for the country.
01:05The Uniform Civil Code is a common set of personal laws governing all citizens
01:11in aspects like marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption.
01:16The important thing to note here is that
01:17these common laws are irrespective of religion, sex, gender or caste.
01:22If this happens, religion-based laws such as
01:25the Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act and Christian Marriage Act,
01:29among others, might have to be repealed.
01:31Those opposing the UCC argue that it violates the constitutional freedom
01:35to practice one's religion of choice.
01:37These fears were echoed back between 1946 and 1950 as well,
01:42when there were apprehensions that the UCC might impinge
01:45on religious freedom and cultural diversity.
01:48In its manifesto, the BJP has said that UCC is listed in the constitution
01:52as one of the directive principles of state policy in Article 44.
01:56The party believes that without it, there cannot be gender equality in the country.
02:13One nation, one election is basically holding simultaneous elections in the country.
02:18This will include parliament elections, state elections
02:22as well as local body polls.
02:24PM Modi emphasised that this exercise will reduce waste of public money,
02:28promote development and the continuous cycle of elections in the country will stop.
02:34But several opposition parties, including the Congress,
02:36argued against holding simultaneous elections,
02:39since they might push regional and local concerns to the side.
02:43They're worried that bigger national issues will likely dominate the elections,
02:46making it difficult for smaller parties and states to have their voices heard.
02:50The provision of no-confidence motion will also come into question,
02:54since sudden changes in government will lead to untimely elections.
02:57The BJP in the manifesto said they have set up a high-powered committee
03:02to examine these issues and will also make provisions
03:04for a common electoral roll for all elections.
03:10The Citizenship Amendment Act makes way for non-Muslim minorities,
03:14such as Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis
03:18from countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan
03:21to get fast-tracked citizenship if they arrived in India on or before 31st December 2014.
03:27The CAA was implemented by the BJP government on 11th March 2024
03:32and this led to several protests across the country.
03:35Detractors, including opposition leaders, said that CAA is discriminatory towards Muslims
03:40and some even called it communal and divisive.
03:48The BJP's manifesto mentioned that they will use the CAA to confer citizenship
04:07to all eligible persons. The manifesto also has a large push towards women empowerment.
04:13The party aims to empower 3 crore rural women to become Lakhpati Didis
04:18and aid self-help groups in sectors like IT, healthcare, education,
04:22retail and tourism to increase their income.
04:25The government will also build women's hostels and creches
04:28near industrial and commercial centres to increase women's participation in the workforce.
04:33There are provisions for women in sports, plans to construct more public toilets for them
04:37and a push to expand existing health services
04:40to combat issues like breast cancer, cervical cancer, anemia and osteoporosis.
04:49In 2023, the parliament passed a women's reservation bill,
04:55which provides 33% reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
05:00The BJP manifesto also sought to implement this bill.
05:03There will be women help desks, nicknamed Shakti desks, in police stations and the party
05:09aims to strengthen the country's emergency response systems as well.
05:14Other welfare schemes proposed in the manifesto also address farmers' issues
05:18after the ruling government faced two large-scale farmer protests in their last term alone.
05:24They said they will provide financial support of Rs 6,000 per year
05:28and promised to increase the minimum support price from time to time.