SP vows free power & girls’ education, 33% job quota for women

LUCKNOW: Farmers, women and youth emerged as the key focus areas of the Samajwadi Party’s manifesto which promises 33% reservation for women in all government jobs, including police service, and making farmers debt-free by 2025.
The list of promises includes 300 units of free electricity for domestic users, creation of 22 lakh jobs and employment opportunities in the IT sector, free education for girls from KG to PG, among others.
The 88-page manifesto, divided into 22 chapters, is titled ‘Samajwadi Vachan Patra’ (Samajwadi Promissory Note) and has the most exhaustive section on farmers covering nine pages.
SP promises that minimum support price (MSP) for all crops will be computed on total cost of crop plus 50% of it as profit – a formula derived and approved by the National Commission for Farmers constituted under the chairmanship of agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan.
The Vachan Patra also promises to increase farmers’ insurance to Rs 10 lakh.
To deal with unemployment, the manifesto promises Urban Employment Guarantee Act on the lines of MNREGA for urban workers, including women, till the time they take up regular employment.
In what is being seen as a counter to Congress’s focus on women empowerment under which it has promised 50% reservation to women, SP has announced 33% reservation to women in all government jobs and setting up of an all-women force.
On the education front, SP has promised laptops to all students after they pass Class 12 and free education to girls from KG to PG.