By Amit Agnihotri
New Delhi, Apr 27 (IANS): In a novel move, Congress nominee from Haryana's Hisar Lok Sabha seat Bhavya Bishnoi has come out with a constituency-specific manifesto, in which he spells out his plans for its development.
Bhavya, a 26-year-old graduate of economics and public policy from Oxford, says his idea of having a manifesto for Hisar besides the one that Congress released nationally was intended to identify problems and provide solutions at the constituency level.
Hisar has traditionally supported Bhavya's grandfather Bhajan Lal, a former three-time Chief Minister of Haryana, and father Kuldeep Bishnoi.
The constituency, however, continues to perform poorly on various social welfare indicators such as healthcare, education, sanitation and infrastructure. "That is due to neglect of the past governments in the state," Bhavya said.
He said the amount of Rs 5 crore per year available to an MP under the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) is not often used effectively, that's why he has proposed a community contributory fund to support the scheme.
"There are 400 villages and 9 towns in Hisar parliamentary constituency. The MPLAD fund have a limit," he said.
Over 200 deaths take place in Hisar due to respiratory diseases every year and a number of cancer cases are reported from the area, he has also proposed a medical township in his constituency.
"We will start a campaign to adopt smokeless 'chulhas', since merely 38.8 per cent households in Hisar use clean fuel for cooking. We will train women entrepreneurs to sell smokeless 'chulhas' to the community," he said.
Congress Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Gowda, who heads the AICC research department and was instrumental in framing the party's 2019 manifesto, fine-tuned the Hisar vision document for the young political aspirant.
"This was in line with the party's agenda to empower the citizens nationally," said Gowda.
Bhavya does not fail to invoke the legacy of his grandfather. "My grandfather was the architect of modern Haryana and devoted his life to public service. My father Kuldeep Bishnoi continues to persevere in his struggle for social justice and economic prosperity for the people," he said.