Speaking to newspersons after releasing the party manifesto here, general secretary Arvind Chaturvedi said that the party also intended to set up free ports at Mumbai and Tuticorin in an attempt to boost trade and commerce.

Besides creating a southern rivers grid, Chaturvedi said the party would work for a national programme for desalination of sea water in the coastal areas for providing protected drinking water supply.

The 15-page manifesto also promised to raise the defence budget to seven per cent of the GDP and allocate 30 per cent of the defence budget to the Navy to set up an effective naval monitoring station at Car Nicobar and to develop a blue water navy.

Chaturvedi said that the party would strive for the amendment of articles 102 and 190 of the constitution inorder to make any appeal to voters in the name of religion punishable by disqualification from Parliament and state legislatures.