The Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT)’s slogan is “Narrowing the Gap”. The party formally introduced its slogan at a press conference today.
DNT says the “gap” explicitly implies to income gap or inequality among the different sections of the Bhutanese society, which the party is seeking to close.
DNT says in the past ten years, Bhutan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown, but the gap in the income has widened.
“It didn’t just come out of the air. It has come about after wide consultation across 20 dzongkhags, hearing the concerns of the people in 205 gewogs, wide discussions within our own party members and coordinators and also most importantly looking at the data from the Bhutan Living Standards Survey, Population and Housing Census, Multi Dimensional Poverty Index and the country’s economy,” Dr. Tandin Dorji, the spokesperson of DNT, said.
To close the gap, the party will adopt two broad approaches. It will provide equal opportunities for all and develop and implement policies that are favourable to lower and middle-income groups.
“We are interested to know the outcome of the government polices of over five years on the lives of our Bhutanese. Are they all equally happy? Do they have equal opportunities? Are the policies fair for all Bhutanese?” Dr. Tandin Dorji said.
“Till now, our elected governments have been focusing on GDP. For instance, how many boleros have been distributed, roads constructed and establishment of central schools, but how has that impacted the lives of the Bhutanese? Have they made our people happier? So, our party intends to measure the impacts.”
The party has prepared its manifesto in line with the ideology of bridging income inequality. They will present its manifesto during the campaign period.
