By Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net
Kolkata: In a clear departure from political parties releasing their manifesto before elections, the Students Islamic Organisation of India has released its West Bengal Assembly Election Manifesto 2016. SIO, a students’ organisation, presented the Election Manifesto with 29 demands, targeting the contesting candidates of all the political parties in West Bengal who are participating in the Assembly Election 2016.
The manifesto’s primary demands include developing the education in the state besides maintaining communal harmony and fighting the fanatic forces.
On the issue of education, the manifesto points out while the literacy rate in Kerala is 99%, it stands at only 77.08% in West Bengal. So, the new government must focus more on the education policy. The other demands are to increase the MBBS/MD/MD seats in medical colleges, development of the AMU campus of Murshidabad, more college and hostel in backward district, interest-free loan for higher studies and alcohol-free college campuses.
Central President of SIO Ikbal Hussain at Press Conference in Kolkata
At the release of the election manifesto, the organisation’s president of Ikbal Hussain said there is a need to improve the quality of the education in the state, giving special importance to technical and technological education.
State Jamat-e Islami Hind president Muhammad Nuruddin said the trend of saffronising education poses a danger in the country and appealed to the secular political parties to consider the SIO election manifesto demands.
(Photo: Sandip Saha)