Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) on Saturday promised free laptops to Class XII students of state-run schools in Jharkhand, if it forms a government in Jharkhand. Lalu's RJD is the second party in the poll-bound state to announce free laptops to students. Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (P) has also promised free tablets to students while Congress has promised free TV sets to BPL families.
"Quality education is RJD's primary focus. Laptops help students connect to the world and learn what is happening all around the globe," said RJD spokesperson Manoj Kumar who, along with RJD state vice-president Haji Zubair Bhai, released RJD's election manifesto on Saturday.
Approximately three lakh students study in Class XII in schools run by government in Jharkhand. Multiplying the number of students by the approximate cost of a basic laptop (Rs 15,000) would mean that the plan will add a burden of over Rs 450 crore to the state's exchequer. RJD's manifesto did not, however, mention through which source the party will fulfill the financial requirement for distributing such a huge number of laptops.
The manifesto said RJD government will try to make Jharkhand corruption-free and will also make education compulsory for children up to 14 years of age. "We will provide modern rickshaw-pullers "rain-basera" in every district," said Zubair.
Haji Zubair Bhai said RJD has strongly challenged people (political parties) trying to win elections by polarizing the voters in Jharkhand. "All the secular parties are together and we will defeat them," he said. Zubair also claimed that the RJD-Congress and JD (U) alliance will form the next government in the state.
RJD has fielded 18 candidates, including five sitting MLAs, in Jharkhand where RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has kick-started a high-voltage election campaign.
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