Cong Manifesto: Higher quota, no Agnipath, optional NEET, MSP guarantee, caste census
NEW DELHI: A Constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for the SCs, STs and OBCs, right to apprenticeship, a legal guarantee for MSP, a nation-wide caste census, abolishing the Agnipath scheme for recruitment to the armed forces, are among the five big promises made by the Congress in its Lok Sabha polls manifesto released here on Friday.
The manifesto, titled “Nyay Patra’’ and focusing on five “pillars of justice” and 25 guarantees under them, was released at the party headquarters in the presence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
In the 45-page document, featuring pictures of Kharge and Rahul and Bharat Jodo Yatras, the main Opposition party said it would implement a 10 per cent quota in jobs and educational institutions for economically weaker sections (EWS) for all castes and communities without discrimination if it comes to power.
The grand old party has promised to launch a Mahalakshmi scheme across the country, under which it will provide Rs. 1 lakh per year to every poor Indian family as an “unconditional cash transfer.’’
The Congress also said it would conduct a nationwide socio-economic and caste census, and will immediately restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The party said it would revisit the policy of centrally-conducted qualifying examinations such as NEET, Common University Entrance Test (CUET) and make it optional for state governments to adopt these examinations for admissions or conduct their own exams.
The party also promised special status to Andhra Pradesh, full statehood to Puducherry, and to amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, to declare that Lt Governor shall act on the aid and advice of Council of Ministers of NCT, Delhi.
It also promised to fill nearly 30 lakh vacancies in sanctioned posts at various levels in the central government and said the Rajasthan model of cashless insurance of up to Rs 25 lakh will be adopted to ensure universal healthcare across the country.
Rejecting the ‘one nation, one election’ idea, the Congress promised that elections to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies be held as and when they are due in accordance with the Constitution and the traditions of Parliamentary democracy.
It also promised to restore the voters’ trust in the election process by amending election laws and ensuring that VVPAT slips are tallied with EVMs.
The Congress said it will review the new education policy brought by the NDA.
It also promised to enact a law on bail that will incorporate the principle that ‘bail is the rule, jail is the exception’ in all criminal laws. It further promised to introduce comprehensive prison reforms.
“The 2024 general election presents an opportunity for radically changing the style and substance of governance that has been in evidence in the past decade of Anyay Kaal. We appeal to you to look beyond religion, language and caste, choose wisely, and install a democratic government that will work for all the people of India,” the Congress said in its manifesto while appealing to people to vote for it in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
It said it guarantees a new ‘right to apprenticeship act’ to provide one-year apprenticeship to every diploma holder or graduate below age of 25, under which apprentices will get Rs one lakh a year.
“We will reserve one-half (50 per cent) of central government jobs for women starting in 2025.
“We will increase the wage under MGNREGA to Rs 400 per day. MGNREGA funds and workers may also be deployed to build public assets such as classrooms, libraries and primary health centres,” the party said.
Besides, it said it will give legal guarantees to Minimum Support Prices (MSP) announced by the government every year as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.
It said it will launch an urban employment programme guaranteeing work for urban poor in reconstruction, renewal of urban infrastructure.
The party said in the document that it would abolish the Agnipath programme and direct the armed forces to resume normal recruitment to achieve full sanctioned strength.
It noted that in the last 10 years the BJP has done tremendous damage by misusing the brute majority enjoyed by it in Parliament to make laws that violated the letter and spirit of the Constitution of India as well as the fundamental principles of law-making, namely, necessity, consultation, reasonableness and proportionality.
“We promise that all anti-people laws passed by the BJP/NDA without proper parliamentary scrutiny and debate, especially those relating to workers, farmers, criminal justice, environment & forests and digital data protection, will be thoroughly reviewed and changed. We will carry out complete investigations of the Electoral Bonds Scam, the reckless sale of public assets, the PM CARES scam, repeated intelligence failures at the highest levels and corruption in major defence deals,” it said.
“I urge everyone to have a close look at our manifesto and you will see a ‘shandaar tasveer’ (beautiful picture) of our country in it,” Kharge said while addressing the gathering.
Kharge also wondered what kind of level playing field is there when the principal Opposition party’s accounts have been frozen.
Rahul Gandhi said this Lok Sabha election is a fight between forces who are trying to “destroy” the Constitution and democracy in the country and those protecting them.
He said it is a much closer contest than propagated by the media, and expressed confidence of winning the polls.
“We do believe that it is very important once this fight is won that we look after the interests of the vast majority of our people,” he said, claiming that this is not a nation that will be run by 2-3 people and neither by monopolies.
Asked about who will be the prime ministerial face, Gandhi said: “INDIA bloc has decided that we are together fighting an ideological election, after winning the election, who will be the leader, the PM, the whole coalition will jointly decide.”
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said: “After a decade of Anyay Kaal, this Nyay Patra, centred on the theme of justice, will lay the path for an India that is more prosperous and equitable for all.”
Manifesto Committee chairperson and senior party leader P Chidambaram said the primary concern of all and what the country needs is “jobs, jobs, jobs”.
Alleging that the BJP has turned out to be a “giant washing machine”, the Congress vowed that the allegations against those who had cases registered against them but were allowed to escape the law after they joined the BJP would be “revived and investigated”.
In its manifesto, the Congress said that if it comes to power, it will probe demonetisation, Rafale deal, Pegasus spyware usage, and the electoral bonds scheme and bring those who made “illegal gains” through these measures to justice.
The party alleged that in the last 10 years, several measures taken by the BJP-led NDA government were actually a “cloak for corruption”.
“Some examples are demonetisation, the Rafale deal, Pegasus spyware, and the electoral bonds scheme. Congress will probe these dubious deals and schemes and bring to law those who made illegal gains through these measures,” the manifesto stated.
Claiming that known offenders were allowed to leave the country in the last 10 years, the Congress said the NDA government is perceived to have facilitated their escape and has not been able to bring back any of the “scamsters”.
Invoking Rabindranath Tagore’s “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”, the Congress made a fervent appeal to people to repose faith in the party in the Lok Sabha polls and promised greater freedom, faster growth and justice for all.
In the manifesto, the party alleged that the last 10 years of the BJP-NDA government have been marked by exaggeration and publicity rather than substance and performance.
“The economy has registered less-than-satisfactory growth. Widespread unemployment, high inflation and falling consumption have debilitated even this modest growth. While the poor and the middle classes have been hit below the belt, the atmosphere in the country has become hate-filled and divisive,” the party alleged under the rubric ‘Appeal’.
The Congress also claimed that Constitutional values have been pushed to the background and majoritarianism has taken over.
“Inequalities have widened. Every section of people lives in fear. What India and the Indian people need at this time is a decisive break from the path of the last 10 years. The people yearn to walk on the road of all-round development, equality, equity, freedom and justice. Congress has the capability to provide the leadership to the people to walk on this new road,” the manifesto said.
“The lessons of history are there before you. Congress delivered Independence. Congress laid the foundations of democracy. Congress steered the country’s economic development through the 1950s and 1960s. Congress governments fought the wars of 1965 and 1971 and protected the sovereignty and integrity of India. Congress brought about a paradigm change in 1991 and ushered in an era of impressive growth,” it said.
In the last 10 years, the Congress claimed that it has been the bulwark against illiberalism and authoritarianism.
The party said it has stood with the people in their fight against injustice and oppressive laws.
“It is time to remind ourselves of Tagore’s immortal words in Gitanjali: Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high...Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake,” the manifesto concluded.
In the introduction to the manifesto, the party said the 2024 general election presents an opportunity for radically changing the style and substance of governance that has been in evidence in the past decade of “Anyay Kaal (period of injustice)”.
“We appeal to you to look beyond religion, language and caste, choose wisely, and install a democratic government that will work for all the people of India. We appeal to you to vote for the Congress,” the party said.
