Cong manifesto: Farm loan waiver, jobs and free education for women
POLL PROMISES Party lists out better health care as a ‘right’ of the citizens and says it will safeguard journalists with a legislation
The Congress on Thursday released its election manifesto for the state, which goes to polls on December 7, with special focus on the farmers, whose agricultural loans it promises to waive, and on the unemployed youth, the section it offers to pay a monthly allowance of ~3,500.
The party also lists out better health care as a “right” of the citizens and says it will safeguard the journalists with a law for their protection. The party also promises free education to all girls — in what the manifesto notes would be “a first in the state”.
Claiming it to be a ‘people’s manifesto’, the party named it as the ‘Rajasthan Jan Ghoshna Patra,’ saying it has been finalised after going through over two lakh suggestions and opinions form the people, Congress state president Sachin Pilot said.
“What we had said six months ago (allowance for the unemployed), they (the Bharatiya Janata Party) have incorporated it in their manifesto. We have plans for its (the manifesto’s) time bound implementation and the party will bring an accountability bill within 30 days,” Pilot said, adding that the manifesto was prepared after collecting feedback from the people.
The Congress’ manifesto comes two days after the ruling BJP announced its ‘Sankalp Patra’, which had a similar allowance for the unemployed people — with a difference in amount. (The BJP is offering ~5,000).
The Congress manifesto also highlights several schemes of the BJP government as being “non functional”, and promises to ensure their “effective implementation”.
The big takeaways include waiving farmers’ loans “within 10 days of coming to power”, pension to the elderly farmers, 5% reservation to Gujjar, Raika, Gadiya Luhar and Banjara community under the special backward class category, 30% of fair price shops to women, enhanced pensions to the elderly and the deprived sections.
The Congress also promises to scrap minimum education qualification criteria introduced by the BJP government in Panchayati Raj elections.
The 39-page manifesto also promises to increase the old age pension scheme amount from ~500 to ~750, and from ~750 to ~1,000. The party also proposes to exempt agricultural equipment and tractors from the Goods and Services Tax (12% at present), constitute a spice board, a pasture land development board (which also finds mention in the BJP’s manifesto) and a directorate of handicraft and handloom.
It promises free education to all girls and women, and a new education policy to improve the quality of education in the state. The party also promises to review and open 20,000 schools shut by the BJP government “in the name of rationalisation”.
The manifesto mentions creation of seven boards including one for Vipra (Brahmin) and another for Vedic traditions and education as compared to nine by the BJP, which had also proposed a board for Parshuram, revered by a section of Brahmins.
BJP spokesperson Mukesh Pareek said there was nothing impressive in the Congress manifesto. “It is old wine in new bottle. The Congress is promising many things which have already been done. They have copied the BJP manifesto,” he said.
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