75% jobs for locals, farm loan waiver in Congress poll manifesto
CHANDIGARH: The Congress unveiled a raft of welfare promises in its Haryana election manifesto on Friday with a focus on women, farmers, unemployed youth and weaker sections of society.
The party promised to waive farm loans within 24 hours of forming the government and 33% reservation for women in government jobs.
Other pledges included free power for small farmers, rice and wheat at ₹2 per kilo for the poor, residential plots for Dalits and an unemployment allowance for college graduates. The party also said 75 per cent of jobs in private companies will be reserved for Haryana’s young people.
“If voted back to power, implementing the farm loan promise will be the top priority of the Congress,” said senior leader and Haryana party incharge, Ghulam Nabi Azad, while unveiling the 20-page document.
The manifesto also pledged ₹5,100 monthly person pension, ₹3,500 pregnancy allowance till the birth of the child and ₹5,000 per month till the child turns 5, ₹2,000 per month for women below the poverty line, and ₹1 lakh for the marriage of women belonging to weaker sections.
Haryana has 8.5 million women voters and the party promised separate buses for women with women drivers and conductors, 50% reservation in panchayats and municipal corporations.
The party also proposed to remove existing mandatory educational qualification for contesting elections of panchayati raj Institutions.
It also proposed a strong legislation to curb mob lynching. Party chief Kumari Selja hoped the manifesto will end the “misrule” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Unfortunately we are hero when it comes to hard work and zero in publicity.
And the party running the government at the Centre and in other states at present is zero in delivering, but hero in seeking publicity.
We work in the field and our rivals in the in the TV studio,” Azad said.