The Congress party today released its manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The manifesto was released in the presence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
Appealing the electorate to vote for the Congress. the Naya Patra states that Indian has suffered under the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance rule for the last 10 years. “The ten 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. Constitutional values have been pushed to the background and majoritarianism has taken over. Inequalities have widened. Every section of the people lives in fear,” it reads.
The Congress manifesto centers on ten key aspects:
Equity: Congress has promised that it will conduct a nation-wide Socio-Economic
and Caste Census to enumerate the castes and sub-castes and their socio-economic conditions and it will pass a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap
on reservations for SC, ST and OBC. The reservation of 10 per cent in jobs and educational
institutions for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) will be implemented for all castes and communities without discrimination. Moreover it will fill all the backlog vacancies in posts reserved for SC, ST and OBC within a period of one year.
Health: Congress promises that healthcare will be universal and free in public health centres such as hospitals, clinics, primary health centres, mobile healthcare units, dispensaries and health camps. Free healthcare will include examination, diagnostics, treatment, surgery, medicines, rehabilitation and palliative care.
Youth: Congress guarantees a new Right to Apprenticeship Act to provide a one year apprenticeship with a private or a public sector company to every diploma holder or
college graduate below the age of 25. Apprentices will get 1 lakh a year. The apprenticeship will impart skills, enhance employ-ability and provide full-time job opportunities for millions of youth.
Education: Congress will amend the RTE Act to make education from Class I to Class XII in public schools compulsory and free. It will end the practice of charging special fees for
different purposes in public schools.
Sport: Congress will take suitable measures to ensure that the constitution of each sports body is in accordance with certain norms and principles, that elections are held according to the constitution of that body and the recommendations of the Justice Lodha Committee, and that there is adequate representation in each sports body for active players, former players and women.
Women: Congress resolves to launch a Mahalakshmi scheme to provide 1 lakh per year to every poor Indian family as an unconditional cash transfer. The poor will be identified among the families in the bottom of the income pyramid.
Farmer: Congress will give a legal guarantee to the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) announced by the government every year, as recommended by the Swaminathan
Commission. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices will be made a statutory body. MSP payable to the farmer-seller at the procurement centres and APMCs will be directly credited digitally to the bank account of the farmer.
Fisheries & Fishing Community: Congress will restore the subsidy for diesel for sea-going fishing communities and it commits to expeditious search for fisher-folk missing at sea. If presumed dead, death certificates will be issued within 3 months. Congress will direct insurance companies to provide insurance cover for sea-going fishing boats.
Worker: Congress will introduce reforms in industrial and labour laws to restore the balance between labour and capital to meet the twin goals of full employment and high
productivity gains.
Defending the constitution: Congress promises to end the arbitrary and indiscriminate
suspension of the Internet and additionally it will review the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and remove the provisions that restrict freedom of speech.
Economy: Congress promises to create thousands of jobs as outlined in the
next chapter. The best creator of jobs is the private sector. In particular, the MSME sector is the creator of the largest number of jobs, especially for workers with average education and average skills. Congress will support the private sector and every kind of enterprise, large, medium, small and micro in their endeavor to create jobs and produce goods and
services.
Fedarlism: Congress will review the distribution of legislative fields in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
National Security: Congress will reverse the decline in defence expenditure as
a proportion of total expenditure and will ensure that sufficient funds are allocated and spent to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces. Congress will scrap the Agnipath Scheme and return to the normal recruitment processes followed by the Army, Navy and Air Force that will guarantee economic and social security for our soldiers.
Environment: Congress will constitute an independent Environment Protection and Climate Change Authority to establish, monitor and enforce environmental standards and to enforce the National and State Climate Change plans. Congress will also launch a Green New Deal Investment Program focused on renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure and the creation of green jobs.
