NEW DELHI, April 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday pledged to revise income tax brackets to help the middle-class if the party retained power in an upcoming general election.
“We are committed to further revise the tax slabs and the tax benefits to ensure more cash and greater purchasing power in the hands of our middle income families,” the BJP said in its election manifesto released on Monday.
BJP to scrap a decades-old law providing special rights to the residents of Jammu and Kashmir state, according to the manifesto.
“We believe that Article 35A is an obstacle in the development of the state,” the party’s manifesto said of the law that prevents non-residents from buying property in the state.
Political leaders in Muslim-majority Kashmir, where India is fighting an armed insurgency against its rule, have warned repealing the law would lead to widespread unrest.
India’s seven-phase general election starts on April 11. Votes will be counted on May 23.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP is widely expected to win but with a smaller mandate, mainly due to a shortage of jobs and weak farm prices. — NNN-AGENCIES
