Manual scavenging on BJP's agenda

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to focus on one more social campaign — to make India free from manual scavenging and rehabilitating those who are engaged in this vocation.

A decision to take up the campaign was announced by party president Amit Shah on Friday, the first day of the two-day national executive meeting held in Bengaluru.

Briefing the media on the outcome of the opening session, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the new campaign would be in addition to the two other ongoing social campaigns — Swachh Bharat and Beti Bachao Beti Padao.

Shah, according to the minister, told the meeting that there are 23 lakh manual scavengers in India and that their plight has not changed over the last 70 years despite many welfare schemes.

“Stigma attached to the profession still continues. Mahatma Gandhi had said that this was the worst profession,” Javadekar recalled.

The minister said that every family engaged in manual scavenging would be contacted personally by the party workers and then educate them about alternative employment available for them.

“Efforts would be to rehabilitate them through government programmes. A time-table to carry forward this social programme would be announced on Saturday,” he added.

Referring to the ongoing Beti Bachao Abhiyan, the aim is to create gender sensitisation and ensure that female feticide stop. When one reporter asked whether the BJP ministers and leaders would be sensitised as they have been found making loose comments against the fairer sex, Javadekar ducked the question by just saying, “All including menfolk would be sensitised.”

Referring to the Swachh Bharat Andolan, the party said it would be a permanent campaign and it would continue. Even river Ganga conservation programme Namami Gange, would come under the Swacha Bharat programme.

Javadekar also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always been advocating that political parties should go beyond politics and do social campaigns or get engaged in non-political campaigns.

The party also claimed to be the world’s largest political party. This was revealed by Shah during the meeting. The BJP president said the target is to reach 10 crore membership.