Congress’ 2024 manifesto focuses on unemployment, promises caste census

New Delhi:

The Congress has released its manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with job creation, infrastructure development and national caste census being the main highlights.

The manifesto was launched in Delhi by party leader Mallikarjun Haq, who was flanked by senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who headed the committee that drafted the document, was also present at the meeting.

“This declaration will be ‘court documents” (a righteous document) in the political history of the country. Five Pillars from “Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra” – Yuva (youth), kisan (farmer), Nari (female), Shramik (worker), and shareholder (equity), there will be 25 guarantees…,” Mr Kharge said.

The party said the overall themes of the manifesto were based on “jobs”, “wealth” and “wellbeing”.

“‘Jobs’ means you have to provide jobs. ‘Wealth’ has to be created before it is distributed. ‘Welfare’ means taking care of poorer areas,” Congress said.

Congress Manifesto: Caste Census

One of the hottest topics is the caste census – a politically hot topic that has been making headlines since the Bihar government released a state-wide survey in November.

The Congress party in its manifesto vowed to conduct a nationwide census to identify and enumerate castes, sub-castes and their socio-economic status and amend the constitution to increase the 50 per cent quota limit for marginalized groups – namely Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Caste Tribes and Others backward classes.

Congress manifesto: MSP for farmers

The party also promised to implement minimum support price for farmers growing cash crops. The MSP issue has been at the heart of farmers’ protests since 2020, when hundreds of thousands across the country staged months-long protests against the Centre’s three (now repealed) farm laws.

The Congress said it would provide permanent legal protection to the MSP, the core demand of the protesting farmers, as per the scheme recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.

“Congress is the only party that listens to the plight of farmers and farm workers and we are determined to do everything possible to alleviate their suffering and make farming a desirable livelihood,” the party said. The farmers’ protest was termed “callous”.

Congressional Declaration: Poverty

The party also vowed to eradicate poverty by improving the fortunes of 230 million people over the next decade. Chidambaram attacked the BJP as “a government of the rich, a government of the rich, a government of the rich” and said it was “driven by the interests of the top 1 per cent”.

“…but we will focus on the bottom 50%. The bottom 50% is equally important. It is estimated that 230 million people are still in poverty in this country. UPA has lifted 240 million people out of poverty and we are committed if the Congress When the party-led government comes to power in 2024, we will raise Rs 23 crore in 10 years.”

As part of this commitment and to empower women, Congress said it will launch a ‘Mahalakshmi’ scheme to provide an unconditional cash transfer of Rs 1 lakh annually to the eldest female member of every poor family. Beneficiaries will be identified as those from the bottom of the income pyramid.

Inequality of income and opportunity remains India’s ugliest truth. The party said it is the moral and political responsibility of any government to ensure that every family has a basic monthly income.

Congressional Declaration: National Security, China

Congress said it “recognizes that national security is strengthened not by bombast or exaggerated claims, but by quiet attention to our borders and determined defense readiness.”

The party said it would work to restore the status quo on the country’s border with China and “ensure that our soldiers once again have access to areas patrolled by both countries’ armies in the past.”

This was seen as a direct attack on the BJP, which has been involved in a military standoff with China in parts of eastern Ladakh following violence in June 2020, which the opposition has repeatedly claimed resulted in New Delhi surrenders territory to Beijing.

Regarding diplomatic tensions with the Maldives, Congress said it was working to “repair relations.”

Congressional Declaration: Healthcare

The party said it would provide universal free health care, including diagnosis, surgery and medication costs. This will come with cashless insurance of up to Rs 25 lakh, just like the model implemented in Rajasthan when the Congress was in power.

“We promise that health care will be universal and free in hospitals, clinics, primary health care centres, health centres, pharmacies and public health centers such as health camps. Free health care will include examinations, diagnosis, treatment, surgery, medicines, rehabilitation , and palliative care.”

Congress said it would also create assisted living and nursing homes for people with disabilities and provide them with representation in local agencies.

Congressional Declaration: Other Highlights

The party said the move, which it said would “serve as a one-off relief measure”, was likely to spark a backlash among unemployed youth trapped in huge loan debts Write off all student education loans, including unpaid interest. The amount will be calculated on March 15.

Congress said the government would provide compensation to banks.

The party said it would also introduce a law “Recognition of civil unions between couples belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community“.

Congress says it will amend the law to “Combining EVM efficiency with ballot transparency“Polling will be conducted through EVMs but voters will be able to hold machine-generated ballot slips and deposit them into a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) unit,” the party said.

2024 Lok Sabha elections

The elections will be held in seven phases starting from April 19.

Voting will be announced on June 4th.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which has yet to release a manifesto, are running for a third consecutive term. They face a joint challenge from the opposition, which is (mostly) united under the Congress-led Indian flag.

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