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Akali manifesto has every promise for
everyone, but isn't Akali
WSN Bureau
Chandigarh:
Continuing with what is undoubtedly its most aggressive election
campaign ever, the Shiromani Akali Dal has promised everything to
everyone. So much so that the Daily Ajit, the Punjabi language mass
circulation daily published from Jalandhar where the manifesto was
released, used the headline -- Sab Layee Sub Kuchh Da Vayada!
But the Sub Kuchh did not include the 'panthic' demands that the
Akalis always stressed. Anandpur Resolution is not mentioned,
Chandigarh gets a mention in the passing and Khalsa Ji Ka Bol Bala
seems alien to the party. Of course the 1997 promise of setting up a
commission to inquire into the era of militancy is neither referred
to, nor was the party expected to do so.
There is no promise of Akali leaders being amritdharis, or living a
simple, spartan lifestyle. Prakash Singh Badal's face adorns the
manifesto.
Full of promises, the manifesto said the Akali Dal has vowed to
pursue its new vision for “the resurrection of Punjab” with a
distinct — almost Congress-like — emphasis on rising poverty in the
state.
Sensing the huge negative impact that spiralling prices have had on
the lives and minds of the poor, the party said it would ensure
cheap atta and daal — wheat flour at Rs 4 and pulses at Rs 20 per
kilo. Doles for the needy also include 400 units of free
electricity, a Rs 50,000 housing grant, Rs 15,000 for daughters’
weddings, Rs 10-lakh education loans, unspecified scholarships for
all dalit, Scheduled Caste and backward class families. Farm
labourers will be protected against lost wage days through a free,
Rs 2lakh health insurance scheme.
The party also promises to set up an exclusive dalit development
board whose head will have the rank of a state Cabinet minister.
But quite like their rivals in the ruling Congress, the Akali focus
remains on better, fatter doles for poor rather than specific
measures to equip depressed sections with the skill to earn a better
living.
In its new, forward-looking avtar, inspired by the role being played
by party general secretary Sukhbir Singh Badal, the Akali Dal
manifesto lays considerable stress on knowledge enhancement, youth
and sports. The promises include a knowledge city, institutes of
excellence on the lines of IIT and IIM, a film production and
training institute and a media institute complete with institute
collaborations.
7 February 2007
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