Congress promises raising 50% quota cap, caste census
Party releases manifesto with ‘justice’ as its theme; Rahul Gandhi says the election is being closely fought and not as it is made out to be, and the INDIA bloc will emerge victorious
Framing the Lok Sabha election as a contest between those who want to “destroy” the Constitution and democracy and those who want to protect them, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, at the launch of his party’s election manifesto on Friday, said the election would be closely contested and the Opposition would win the battle.
The 45page manifesto, released by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, has been named Nyay Patra (Document for Justice) as it revolves around the theme of justice [paanch nyay or five pillars of justice] and 25 guarantees. These include the right to apprenticeship (to every diploma holder or graduate below 25 years of age); making the minimum support price a legal right; filling 30 lakh vacant government posts; constitutional amendments to remove the 50% cap on reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs; nationwide caste census; implementing 10% reservation in jobs and educational institutions for economically weaker sections (EWS); and scrapping the Agnipath recruitment scheme for armed forces.
The other key promises include universal healthcare (the “Rajasthan Model” of cashless treatment with health insurance up to ₹25 lakh); cash transfer of ₹1 lakh per year to every Indian family at the bottom of the income pyramid; 50% reservation for women in Union government jobs; and implementing onethird reservation for women in the Assemblies from the 2025 round of elections.
However, the manifesto is silent on bringing back the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), a key promise made by the party in all the previous Assembly elections.
During an interactive session after the launch, Mr. Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that the “capture of institutions” that started in 2019 has now reached its peak.
From promising to probe the electoral bonds scheme and PM Cares Fund to rejecting the concept of ‘one nation, one election’, several sections of the Congress manifesto released on Friday promises to undo key policy initiatives and promises of the Narendra Modi government if the party comes to power.
Under the section “Defending the Constitution”, the party talked about “reversing the damage” done by the Modi government. “We promise that all antipeople laws passed by the BJP/NDA without proper parliamentary scrutiny and debate, especially those relating to workers, farmers, criminal justice, environment and forests and digital data protection, will be thoroughly reviewed and changed,” it said. “We will carry out complete investigations of the electoral bonds scam, the reckless sale of public assets, the PM CARES scam, and corruption in major defence deals”.
The Rafale fighter jet deal, Pegasus spyware, and demonetisation were listed as deals and policies that would be probed if the party got elected to power.
The party also promised to curb hate crimes and communal conflicts, stop extrajudicial measures such as mob lynching, encounter killings and bulldozer justice, and review all laws that interfere with the right to privacy. The manifesto promised the party would not interfere with personal choices in food, dress, or the right to marry.
It also promised to “repair India’s international image that has been damaged by the present government’s intolerance”.
Taking a dig at the Narendra Modi government over the faceoff with China, the Congress promised to restore status quo ante and asserted that national security can’t be enhanced by “chestthumping or exaggerated claims but by quiet attention to our borders and resolute defence preparedness”.
Taking youth and the working population as key target groups, the manifesto promised onetime loan waiver on all educational loans up to March 15, revisit Centrally conducted exams such NEET and CUET, abolish application fees for public examinations and government posts, increase the wage under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to ₹400 per day and an urban employment guarantee programme.
“If Congress comes to power, we will lift 23 crore people out of poverty. We have done it before and we can do it again,” former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, who headed the manifesto committee, said at the launch.
The manifesto rejected the ‘one nationone election’ idea and also promised to amend election laws to ensure that voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips are tallied with Electronic Voting Machine counts.
Promising to hold 100 days of Parliament in a year, it said the Presiding Officers of both the Houses will remain neutral and observe the ageold norm, “The Speaker doesn’t speak.”
The party also promised full Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, amending the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to include the tribal areas of Ladakh, offer special status to Andhra Pradesh, full Statehood to Puducherry and amend the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi Act, 1991 to make the LieutenantGovernor act on the aid and advice of Council of Ministers of NCT, Delhi.