Odisha Congress releases poll manifesto

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Commitee (OPCC) on Friday released its election manifesto giving nine guarantees to the people of the state.

The party released its manifesto in the presence of PCC president Sarat Patnaik, the party’s Odis hai n-charge a joy kumar, pan chan an ka nu n go, during a press conference here on Friday.

The party has promised in the manifesto to offer Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs3000 per quintal for paddy along with bonus to the farmers in the state.

While announcing the agricultural loan waiver, the party also pledged to give a pension of Rs 2000 to every farmer in the state if it comes to power.

It assured free electricity upto 200 units for every household as it is offering in Karnataka.

The Congress also promised to provide jobs to five lakh unemployed youths in the state. The OPCC would also pay Rs3000 as unemployment allowance to every graduate.

The party also pledged to waive off loans taken by the Women Self Help Groups. It announced Rs2000 for women heads of the family under Gruhalaxmi Yojana.

It promised to provide gas cylinders to every family at Rs500 per cylinder and free medical treatment upto Rs25 lakhs to everyone including government employees in all the private and government hospitals in the state.

The party also assured to increase the widow, physical disability (Divyang) and old-age pension amount to Rs2000 every month.

The party ater coming to power would conduct a caste-based socio-economic survey in the state. It will provide 27 per cent reservation in jobs and at educational institutes for the backward classes.

This apart, the Congress promised to establish Gau Shalas in every village and Gau Seva Kendras in every Gram Panchayat.

The OPCC has pledged to fulfil the promises made in the manifesto within the first four years of coming to power. The party also assured to return the amount depositors lost to chit-fund scams within six months.