Cong promises LPG cylinder at ₹500, to fill 57,000 posts
Party leader Priyanka Gandhi releases “Uttarakhandi Swabhiman Pratigya Patra” in Dehradun
DEHRADUN: Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday released the party manifesto for the upcoming state assembly election and promised cooking gas cylinder for maximum ₹500, increase in salaries of anganwadi workers by 1.5 times and filling 57,000 vacant posts in the state government.
Uttarakhand goes to the polls on February 14 for the 70-member state assembly.
The manifesto “Uttarakhandi Swabhiman Pratigya Patra” released in presence of former chief minister and party national general secretary Harish Rawat focused on job creation and women empowerment which include providing four lakh jobs in five years and 40% reservation for women in government jobs.
Among the other promises that party “will fulfil” if voted to power, were, setting up “tourist police” for the tourist spots with an aim to provide employment to the youth. The party also promised to fill all the vacant positions in the state police with 40% of them reserved for women.
The main opposition party also promised to provide free travel to women in state transport along with providing an increase of about 1.5 times in the remuneration of ASHA workers of the state. The manifesto also cited its previous announcement of providing cylinder under ₹500 “irrespective of its cost at national level.” It stated that the government will provide the subsidy of the excess amount to the women.
Amid the demand of ₹4,600 grade-pay by the lower ranking police personnel, the party also promised to provide it as soon as it comes to power. It also promised to fill the 57,000 vacancies in the various government departments in the very first year of its government’s tenure.
Other major promises were setting up of “state’s first sports university” and taking back the cases registered against the agitating farmers during farmers’ protests.
It would also develop a comprehensive educational framework for which it will increase the education budget. It would also “modernise the sugar mills and improve the mechanism of payment to the sugarcane farmers to ensure timely payment to them.”
The party also promised to resume “Mere Bujurg- Mere Teerth” to provide free pilgrimage to the senior citizens along with providing pension to them.
Gandhi while addressing a virtual rally on occasion of manifesto release, said that “These are not just mere promises but Congress’ assurance to provide the people there rights.”
She said, “It is the women of Uttarakhand, especially in the hilly areas which has to do the maximum hard work in a family. They have to work in the fields as well as manage the household also.”
Rawat, who is the chairman of party’s election campaign committee, termed the manifesto as “party’s action programme on blessings of the people of Uttarakhand to be showered on them for next five years.”
The state BJP termed the Congress manifesto as a “bundle of blatant lies”.
BJP state president Madan Kaushik said, “The credibility of Congress is zero. Not only the people know it, but the party itself is also aware of it. That is why it has made all the false promises in its manifesto which is a bundle of blatant lies. Priyanka Gandhi, who released the manifesto, should first answer on her promise of giving 40% tickets to women candidates. It didn’t happen, instead the party cancelled tickets of two women who were given the ticket by it for the upcoming election.”