With the battle for conquering Delhi becoming increasingly intense, AAP released their 70-point manifesto for Delhi. The manifesto has been praised and criticised alike. While it has been praised for raising the problems faced by the marginalised as well as the middle class, it has been criticised by many political commentators and analysts as they believe the manifesto includes too many outrageous promises which require huge funding and aren't feasible. Moreover, many of its promises require the Centre's approval and support.
1. Full statehood to Delhi: AAP has promised to ensure full statehood for Delhi in its manifesto, which has been a long pending issue. But it is not the first party to do so. Statehood has been on the agenda of BJP since decades but never been finalized. In 2003, the NDA government had tabled the Statehood Bill, but the govt. fell down and the bill went down the drain. Even Congress had promised full statehood in earlier elections, the UPA government never materialised it. Although AAP promises to materialise the long pending demand, it requires the Centre's approval and given the animosity between Modi and Kejriwal, it is going to be a herculean task for AAP to fulfill this promise.
2. One Rank One Pension (OROP): OROP seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel who retire at the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement. Recently, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said that the scheme will be fast tracked and implemented as soon as possible and said that he will send the financial implications of the scheme to finance ministry by February 17. The scheme falls under the Union List of the Constitution and is already in consideration by the Centre and even if AAP lobbies strongly for it, it would require Centre's approval.
3. Pro-farmer land reform: The AAP manifesto says that Section 33 and 81 of the Delhi Land Reform Act, which put unjust restrictions on farmers' rights over their land, will be removed. No land will be acquired in Delhi's villages without the consent of the Gram Sabha. Strong pressure would be exerted on the central government to remove unnecessary restrictions regarding land use in villages. Land acquisition falls under the concurrent list of the Constitution which states in case of repugnancy between the state and parliament law, the state law shall be void. Therefore, this promise too depends on the Centre and the Parliament.
4. Metro Rail 2.0: The manifesto states that "We will collaborate with the Indian Railways to extend and develop the Ring Rail service in Delhi. AAP will also work towards large-scale expansion of the Delhi metro, especially in rural areas. Senior citizens, students and persons with disability will be provided concessional passes on buses and in the metro."Indian Railways is owned and operated by the Government of India through the Ministry of Railways; and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) falls under the under administrative control of Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. Therefore, Kejriwal has to work in sync with the Centre to fulfill this promise too.
5. Speedy Justice through 47 Fast-Track Courts: The manifesto states that AAP will strongly push for the creation and completion of 47 fast-track courts, which are dedicated to handling cases of sexual assault and other crimes against women. AAP will operationalise 47 new courts that it had commissioned in January 2014 to ensure speedy justice. However, the selection and appointment of fast-track courts need the agreement of the Centre. Evidently, Kejriwal needs to work in sync with the BJP government to fulfill most of his promises, should he become the chief minister.