Liberation Day, free laptops, pilgrimage in BJP manifesto

Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday promised the formation of a committee to draft a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for the state, free trips to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, and an end to "religion-based reservation", as he released the Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto in poll-bound Telangana and addressed several rallies ahead of crucial assembly elections in 12 days.

"There will be the formation of a committee to draft a Uniform Civil Code which will implement the code within six months," Shah said in Hyderabad, calling the promises "PM [Narendra] Modi guarantees". To be sure, the promise of the UCC is a long standing BJP demand, and in Uttarakhand, where the party is in power, a similar committee has been instituted, and a special session of the assembly to discuss the implementation of the code is likely in the coming days.

The BJP manifesto said that it would officially commemorate Hyderabad Liberation Day on September 17 every year. "We will observe August 27 as Razakar Horrors Remembrance Day to pay homage to the martyrs of Bairanpally and Parkal. Further, on assuming office, we will establish a museum and a memorial in Hyderabad, to document the brave struggle of the people of Telangana against the Razakars and the Nizams," BJP manifesto said.

Shah accused Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) of thus far avoiding such celebrations because of a policy of "appeasement".