Kolkata: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday pitched his party as a third alternative for the people of West Bengal, highlighting the Nehruvian middle path with a package of welfare guarantees and employment measures and released the manifesto for the upcoming polls in the state.
While releasing the party manifesto, Kharge said, the Congress was fighting on its own in the state for the first time in twenty years.
He said, the incumbent Trinamool Congress government which has been in power for 15 years was marred by “corruption and control”, while the BJP was only indulging in the politics of polarisation, hatred and violence.
Kharge said, Bengal has three options before it; one is the existing Trinamool Congress way – that is of “corruption and control”, second is that of the BJP which believes in polarisation and spreading hatred, and the third path is the one offered by the Congress, which will ensure public welfare, generate jobs and bring in systemic reforms.
Kharge said, the Congress believes that Bengal has not only to survive, but to again be the torchbearer for the nation.
He said the Congress manifesto is a “serious, structured and honest” effort towards that end.
The manifesto aims at reviving Bengal’s economy, promoting investment and generating employment. Kharge noted that Kolkata was once known to be the favourite destination for investments and jobs. But now, there are no investments and youth of the state have to search for jobs in different parts of the country.
The manifesto promises Rs 2,000 monthly cash assistance for women, Rs 15,000 annual assistance for farmers and Rs 10 lakh health insurance cover for each family in the state.
The Congress President emphasised that the manifesto does not talk merely about disbursing money, but also about rebuilding the economy with relief, reform and a better future.
He said, even after 15 years of the Trinamool Congress rule, there has been no change in Bengal.
He pointed out that the state needs investment and creation of jobs.
He said, on the other hand, the BJP does not talk about the economy but about polarisation and dividing people.
He said, the BJP does neither have a plan for industry revival nor a roadmap for youth.
Kharge said, Congress has come out with the middle path shown by independent India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru that believes in taking along everyone, while announcing that it will build industrial corridors, generate jobs and empower youth.
Flagging unemployment as the biggest problem in West Bengal, Kharge announced that the Congress government will launch the Bengal Employment Guarantee Mission, encourage startups with funding and prioritise AI education and skill development.
The manifesto lays special emphasis on women’s empowerment, viewing them not merely as beneficiaries, but the “drivers of the economy”. Apart from Rs 2,000 every month, they will get free education up to Post Graduation level.
The manifesto made it categorically clear that no matter which party the criminals belong to, they will be strictly dealt with according to the law. It said, the “party raj” will be replaced by the “rule of law”.
Speaking on the occasion, Jairam Ramesh said that the Congress was fighting on its own after 20 years.
He said, this will be a booster dose for the party workers and the people of Bengal, as the Congress manifesto provides a third credible alternative.
Referring to the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls, he disclosed that the names of the grandson and the grand daughter-in-law of eminent painter Nandalal Bose, whose illustrations are in the original copies of the Constitution of India, have been removed from the electoral rolls. He said, the SIR was the dangerous weapon being used by the BJP.
Ramesh also referred to the debate in the Parliament on the national song Vande Mataram.
He said the BJP had tried to use the occasion to target Rabindranath Tagore by invoking Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. “This is how they tried to defame Tagore,” he remarked.
“We believe the TMC and BJP are two sides of the same coin. West Bengal needs a new coin and not the old one – with TMC on one side and BJP on the other,” Ramesh added.