SDF offers basic income in manifesto

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, 30 Mar 2019, Gangtok: The Sikkim Democratic Front on Friday promised to implement the universal basic income (UBI) scheme to provide financial security to all citizens if the party is voted back to power in the Assembly election slated for April 11.

Releasing the party's election manifesto at Soreng in South Sikkim, SDF president and chief minister Pawan Chamling said the UBI scheme was driven by the party's youth-centric agenda. "Our policy is youth first. We will institute a Youth Forum in order to make youth equal partners in policy making," he added.

P. D. Rai, the sitting Lok Sabha member and SDF spokesman, has said the UBI scheme seeks to provide income to the entire people based on the party's pro-poor, pro-youth and sustainable approach. "The other thing is that this is an income and not a grant…Income means you will get this regularly on a monthly basis. By universal it means every member of the household will be entitled, whether you are rich or you are poor it doesn't matter. It has no target," he added.

Terming the party manifesto as a "futuristic, youthcentric document which addresses problems of the present and the future," Chamling also promised to regularise the jobs of the 20,000-odd persons appointed under the recently launched `One Family One Job' scheme of the government. He also vowed to start a new scheme, `One Person, One Profession', whereby every eligible individual will be helped with a profession. Other key promises in the manifesto include cash assistance of Rs 60,000 and provision of agricultural implements up to Rs 40,000 to organic farmers and financially poor families, increase in minimum daily wage to Rs 400, exgratia of Rs 7 lakh to the family of a driver killed in an accident, regularisation of jobs of homeguards with 16 years of service, establishment of hostels for working women, increase in pension for unmarried women to Rs 3000 and Rs 10,000 allowance to practicing advocates.

The SDF manifesto was made after extensive consultation with the ordinary people, eminent stakeholders and experts.

"More than 80,000 responses were received in this manner. These ideas have been incorporated in the election manifesto making citizens active partners in setting the developmental agenda; this has become the largest participative agenda setting exercise in Sikkim's history," said an SDF press release issued here.

The Soreng meeting was the first of the 10-day Sikkim Vijay Sankalp Rally of the SDF. Chamling will address rallies at Mangan, Gangtok, Namthang, Rorathang, Kabi, Ravangla, Geyzing, Mining, Rangpo and Jorethang also.