Guwahati: The BJP on Saturday released its manifesto for the upcoming panchayat polls in Assam with a focus on empowering the youth, women and farmers.
In a bid to woo rural voters ahead of the panchayat elections, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that his government will start night schools in villages this year for special classes for students who would appear for the class 10 board exam.
He asserted that the BJP-led government was focused on empowering the youth, women and marginalised with various schemes to benefit them.
Sarma was speaking after releasing the party’s ‘Sankalpa Patra’ (manifesto) for the panchayat polls, along with state BJP president Dilip Saikia and other party leaders.
“Our objective is to challenge the mindset which has kept Assam a dependent state. We are promoting innovative thinking so that Assam can become a contributory state in the country,” Sarma said.
The CM said a model of night schools run by NGOs in Jharkhand, which he had come across while touring the state extensively during last year’s assembly polls, would be emulated in Assam.
“We are planning to have night schools in our villages where educated local youths will take special classes for class 10 board exam candidates. These classes will run for about five months from October,” Sarma said, adding that the details are being worked out.
Youth empowerment, through education and subsequent employment opportunities, including entrepreneurial ventures, is a key point for the party, which is also reflected in its ‘Sankalpa Patra’ (manifesto) for the polls, the chief minister added.
Though the Pahalgam terror attack has pained all and dampened spirits, the BJP was moving ahead with its panchayat poll campaign to take forward its commitment to decentralisation of power, he said.
Sarma said several initiatives have been taken for the agricultural sector, including the state government paying more than the MSP, and it is now trying to come up with a scheme for value addition to products right at the village level.
Connectivity, education, power and social infrastructure are among the priority areas of the government in rural areas, he added.
Hitting out at the Congress, Sarma claimed that the opposition is now confined to ‘specific areas’ though he did not elaborate further.
Saikia, in his speech, emphasised that development has to be taken to the grassroots level.
“The state has been making rapid strides in development under this government. The benefit of development has to percolate to the lowest level, and we have pledged to ensure it,” he said.
Saikia said the manifesto, prepared with feedback from people across the state, has an equal focus on all core sectors of rural life.
From improving road communication to internal connectivity, from assurances for farmers to youth, problems of all sections have been addressed, the state party chief added.
