Shiv Sena welcomes BJP manifesto, NCP calls it gimmick

Mumbai, Apr 08: The Shiv Sena Monday welcomed the BJP poll manifesto, while the Sharad Pawar-led NCP labelled it a "gimmick". NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik also asked the BJP to first give an account of the implementation of poll promises made by it in 2014.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said her party had been pitching for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya and implementation of the Uniform Civil Code.

"We welcome the manifesto. Efforts should be made now to construct the temple in the next tenure," said Kayande, whose party is an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra.

The BJP has reiterated its commitment towards these issues in the manifesto.

Malik said the BJP has been promising "for years" to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, scrap Article 35-A, which says no outsider can own property in that state, and construct the Ram temple but did not fulfil these promises.

"Their (BJP) manifestos have been 'jumlas' (gimmicks). BJP chief Amit Shah may again say after the polls that it is a jumla," Malik said.

Eyeing to retain power, the BJP made a plethora of poll promises on Monday, including expeditious construction of Ram temple, firmly dealing with terrorism, doubling farmers' income in the next three years, making India the third-largest economy globally by 2030, and scrapping Article 370 of the Constitution that gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

PTI