The Samajwadi Party has pledged to make every farmer in Uttar Pradesh debt-free by 2025, introduce a law to guarantee minimum employment in urban areas and reserve 33% of all government jobs, including the police, for women.
Free fertilisers
With a focus on the rural economy and workers, the SP has also promised to provide two bags of DAP and five bags of urea free of cost for farmers with less than two acres of land, create a corpus fund of ₹10,000 crore to ensure that sugarcane farmers are paid their dues within 15 days and provide ₹25 lakh each to the family of farmers who died in the farmers protest. The SP also said it would provide free electricity for irrigation as well as insurance and pension to farmers.SP chief Akhilesh Yadav released his party’s manifesto here with an eye on the unemployed youth and addressing costs of urban living. He said his party if voted to power would bring an urban employment guarantee act along the lines of MNREGA so that men and women can get guaranteed minimum employment and income till they find a secure job or employment.The SP also said it would launch Samajwadi Canteens and Kirana Stores to provide subsidised ration to workers, labourers and homeless persons and provide the Samajwadi Thali for ₹10 in a big way to tackle hunger.The 88-page SP manifesto also promised two free LPG cylinders per year for BPL families, one litre petrol free of cost every month to persons owning a two-wheeler and three litres of free petrol or six kg CNG to every auto rickshaw driver.“Unbreakable promise. We have done what he promised,” said Mr. Yadav later in a tweet reiterating the resolve made in the manifesto.
Social security
The SP also promised measures to provide social security for widows, poor people and needy women by restoring the Samajwadi Pension scheme under which the beneficiaries were provided ₹18,000 annually. This would benefit one crore families in the State, the SP said.Mr. Yadav also vowed to implement a zero-tolerance policy against “hate crimes” against women, minorities and Dalits. Students who clear class 12 would be provided laptops while CCTV and drone facility would be introduced in all villages and kasbas in the State within one year.Commenting on the BJP’s election manifesto, which was released a few hours before the SP’s, Mr. Yadav said the saffron party did not fulfill the promises made by it in its manifesto.“It should have maintained a two-minute silence for the previous manifesto while releasing their [2022] manifesto,” said Mr. Yadav.