Unveiling the Election Manifesto of Congress: A Comprehensive 10 points Guide to their Promises…

Congress has launched its Election Manifesto for Lok Sabha Elections 2024 naming it “Nyay Patra“. This 48-page Document covers broadly 10 aspects which are discussed in detail in the Article…

I. Introduction to Election Manifesto of Congress

A. Overview of the Congress Party

Introduced in 1885, The Congress party has completed its 138 years of journey so far. It played a major in the Freedom Struggle of the Country and Formed the first elected government of the Independent India. Congress was the only National Party at the time of independence and for also 25 years enjoyed a clear monopoly in Indian politics.

B. Importance of Election Manifesto

The Election Manifesto is an important document published by the political parties contesting the elections. In this manifesto, the political parties declare their intentions and motives for fighting the elections to the people. It contains all the promises made by the political parties to the voters during their election campaign.

However, this document is not legally binding to the political party and that is the reason for misusing it to mislead the voters. Making false promises is seen as very common in election manifestos…

II. Key Focus Areas in the Election Manifesto of Congress

The Election Manifesto of Congress has been recently launched by party covering 10 broad aspects which are listed below:

A. Equity

Social Justice

To ensure nationwide Equity and Social justice, Congress listed the following points in its manifesto:

• Congress will conduct a nationwide Caste Census.
• Constitutional Amendment to raise 50% cap on reservations for SC, ST, OBC.
• 10% reservations for EWS from all castes
• Filling of backlog vacancies in posts reserved for SC, ST, and OBC within a year.
• Increase institutional credit to SC and ST for home-building, starting business and purchasing assets.
• Funds for scholarships of backwards will be doubled.
• Extend networks of residential schools for SC and ST.
• Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers
• SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 will be enforced diligently.
• Effective Implementation of Forests Rights Act,2006.
• Free education to Children from nomadic tribes.
• Encourage the students from minorities to take full advantage of growing opportunities in Education & Employment.
• Institutional loans to minorities.
• Congress promises to meet long-standing Demands for the inclusion of more languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
• Congress will raise the pension of Senior citizens, Widows and persons with disabilities to Rs. 1000 per month.
• Travel concessions for Senior citizens.
• Recognise the Braille script and Sign Languages as Languages.
• Representation of PwDs in local govt. bodies.

Health

• Universal and free healthcare in public health centres
• upgradation of PHCs.
• Introduction of health insurance scheme in public and private sectors.
• Budget expenditure on health to be increased to 4% by 2028-29.
• One govt. medical college cum hospital in each district.
• All the vacancies in public health institutions and medical colleges will be filled in three years.
• The number of central govt. dispensaries will be rapidly expanded.
• Expansion of mid-day meal scheme to Class 12.

B. Youth

Here are a few points for youths in the election manifesto of Congress…

• Congress guarantees a new right to the Apprenticeship Act.
• Fast track courts for paper leak cases.
• Restructuring of fund of funds scheme to allocate 50 % of available funds to startups.
• Abolition of application fees for govt. exams.
• Sports scholarship of Rs. 10000 per month.
• Amendment to the RTE Act to make education from class 1 to 12 free and compulsory
• Amendment in NEP of NDA.
• Regulation committees for affordability and transparency in school fees charged by private schools.
• Pre-school education for all the students.
• Autonomy to colleges and universities.
• Revival of Education Loans.
• Mobile phone to all the students from class 9 to 12.
• Congress will ensure at least one community sports centre in every block and municipal town and at least one multi-sports coaching centre in every district.
• Allocation of sufficient funds to promote sports among girls, women and persons with disabilities.

C. Women

• Congress resolves to launch a Mahalakshmi scheme to provide 1 lakh per year to every poor Indian family as an unconditional cash transfer.
• The amount will be directly transferred to the household’s oldest woman’s bank account.
• . Congress will delete the sinister provisions and bring the Amendment Act into force immediately. The one-third reservation for women will be applied to State Assemblies that will be elected in the next round of Assembly elections in 2025. The one-third reservation for women will also be applied to the Lok Sabha that will be elected in 2029.
• The Party will reserve one-half (50 per cent) of central government jobs for women starting in 2025.
• The Party will ensure that the principle of ‘Same Work, Same Wages’ is enforced.
• The contribution of the Central government to the pay of frontline health workers (such as ASHA, Anganwadi, Mid-Day Meal cooks, etc.) will be doubled.
• In matters of marriage, succession, inheritance, adoption, guardianship, etc., women and men should have equal rights. We will review all the laws and ensure equality between men and women.
• The Party will ensure that laws intended to prevent offences against women such as the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 are strictly enforced.
• In partnership with the State governments, the Central Government will double the number of working women hostels in the country, with at least one Savitribai Phule Hostel in each district.

D. Farmers

• Congress will give a legal guarantee to the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) announced by the government every year, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.
• The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) will be made a statutory body.
• Crop insurance will be made farm and farmer-specific. Premium will be charged from the farmer according to the sum insured and all claims will be settled within 30 days.
• We will establish farmers’ retail markets in large villages and small towns to enable the farmers to bring their produce and sell the same to consumers.
• A major programme is to install solar panels connected to tube wells to generate energy.
• Congress will implement a major initiative to promote horticulture, pisciculture and sericulture, and encourage farmers to diversify into these activities and increase their income.
• Congress will double the value of the output in dairying and poultry in five years.
• In coordination with state governments, we will ensure that one agricultural college and one veterinary college are established in every district of the country.14. We will double the funding for R&D in agriculture in five years.
• The Party will restore the subsidy for diesel for sea-going fishing communities.
• Inland fishing and aquaculture will be recognized as ‘agriculture’.
• Congress will create cooperative banks for fishing communities.

E. Workers

• Reforms in industrial and labour laws to restore the balance between labour and capital to meet our twin goals of full employment and high productivity gains.
• Congress will increase the wage under MGNREGA to Rs. 400 per day.
• Congress will make a law to specify and protect the rights of gig workers and unorganised workers and enhance their social security.
• Congress will Double the number of Anganwadi workers and create an additional 14 lakh jobs.

F. Defending the Constitution

• Congress promises to restore freedom of speech and expression including full freedom of the media
• Congress promises to de-criminalise the offence of defamation and provide, by law, a speedy remedy by way of civil damages.
• Congress promises to end the arbitrary and indiscriminate suspension of the Internet.
• Congress will review the Telecommunications Act, of 2023 and remove the provisions that restrict freedom of speech and expression and that violate the right to privacy.
• Congress promises to uphold the people’s right to assemble peacefully and to form an association.
• Congress reject the ‘one nation one election’ idea and we promise that elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies will be held as and when they are due in accordance with the Constitution and the traditions of a parliamentary democracy.
• Congress promises to restore the voters’ trust in the election process. We will amend the election laws to combine the efficiency of the electronic voting machine (EVM) and the transparency of the ballot paper. Voting will be through the EVM but the voter will be able to hold and deposit the machine-generated voting slip into the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) unit. The electronic vote tally will be matched against the VVPAT slip tally.
• Congress promises to strengthen the autonomy of the Election Commission of India, the Central Information Commission, the Human Rights Commission, the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Commissions for SC, ST, minorities and OBC, and other constitutional bodies.
• Congress promises to amend the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and make defection (leaving the original party on which the MLA or MP was elected) an automatic disqualification of the membership in the Assembly or Parliament.
• Congress promises to enact a law on bail that will incorporate the principle that ‘bail is the rule, jail is the exception’ in all criminal laws.

Media

• Congress will amend the Press Council of India Act, 1978 to empower the Council to deal with the menace of fake news and paid news.
• All media houses, irrespective of the size, will be required to disclose their ownership structures (direct and indirect), cross holdings, revenue streams, etc. through their websites.
• Congress will pass a law to preserve the freedom of the Internet and to prevent arbitrary and frequent shutdowns of the Internet.
• Many new laws (e.g. the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023; Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023; Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023, etc.) give unbridled powers of censorship to the government. The first named Bill will be withdrawn. The restrictive provisions of the two Acts will be amended or deleted to eliminate backdoor censorship.

Judiciary

• All vacancies in the High Courts and Supreme Court will be filled within three years.
• Congress will amend the Constitution to create two divisions in the Supreme Court: a Constitutional Court and a Court of Appeal.
• The Party will allocate sufficient funds for augmenting the physical and technical infrastructure of the judiciary and for the modernisation and maintenance of the infrastructure.
• More women and persons belonging to the SC, ST, OBC and minorities will be appointed as judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court.

G. Economy

• Congress will create thousands of jobs.
• Congress will support the private sector and every kind of enterprise — large, medium, small and micro — in their endeavour to create jobs and produce goods and services.
• Congress will remove the current environment of distrust and fear, and create a healthy eco-system where private enterprises, regulatory authorities, tax authorities and government will work in a spirit of mutual cooperation and respect.
• Congress will protect innovation and intellectual property rights, provide access to finances, and ensure the freedom to produce and sell anywhere in India or abroad
• The party will support free trade and rule-based international trade and commerce.
• The party will encourage and participate in bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.
• Regulatory oversight will be based on clearly enunciated laws and rules that will be applied fairly and without discrimination.
• The party will ensure a level playing field for all.
• Congress opposed to monopolies oligopolies and crony capitalism
• The party will ensure that no company or person arrogates to itself or himself the financial or material resources or the business opportunities or the concessions that ought to be available to every entrepreneur.
• Our policy preference will be in favour of business enterprises that create a large number of jobs.
• Full employment is our goal and we will make every effort to ensure that the large workforce is gainfully employed.
• The Party will introduce reforms in industrial and labour laws to restore the balance between labour and capital to meet our twin goals of full employment and high productivity gains. The Labour Codes passed by the BJP/NDA government will be reviewed and amended.
• . The Party will address the issues of gender discrimination and gender inequality in workplaces and in accessing economic opportunities.
• The party will ensure that banks offer low-interest loans to Self-Help Groups.
• Congress will undertake a comprehensive review of various charges levied by banks, stop the exploitation of customers, and rationalize the charges for bank services.
• The party will launch an urban employment programme guaranteeing work for the urban poor in the reconstruction and renewal of urban infrastructure.
• The party will make a law to specify and protect the rights of gig workers and unorganised workers and enhance their social security.
• Party will propose laws to regulate the employment of domestic help and migrant workers, and ensure their basic legal rights.
• The party will reorient the tax policies towards employment and wages as well as investments and profits.
• The party will address the growing inequality of wealth and income through suitable changes in policy.

H. Federalism

• The Party will grant full Statehood to Pondicherry.
• The party will give special Category status to Andhra Pradesh.
• The Party will enhance the role and authority of Gram Sabhas in matters concerning village panchayats.
• Congress will enhance financial assistance to the Autonomous District Councils in the North Eastern states.
• The Party will immediately restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. We will amend the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to include the tribal areas of Ladakh.
• The Party will amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and declare that the Lieutenant Governor shall act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers of NCT, Delhi on all matters, including Services, except on matters concerning the three reserved subjects.

I. National Security

• The Raksha Mantri’s Operational Directive determines the Armed Forces’ war planning. The UPA government issued the last directive in 2009. Congress will bring a new Operational Directive to deal with our current two-front challenge.
• We will reverse the decline in defence expenditure as a proportion of total expenditure and will ensure that sufficient funds are allocated and spent to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces.
• Congress will scrap the Agnipath Scheme and return to the normal recruitment processes followed by the Army, Navy and Air Force that will guarantee economic and social security for our soldiers.
• Congress will systematically expand the opportunities for women to serve in combatant and non-combatant roles in the Armed Forces.
• The National Security Council (NSC) and the office of National Security Adviser (NSA) will be brought under the oversight of a select committee of Parliament.
• The concept of national security in the 21st century has expanded beyond the defence of the territory to include hybrid warfare, data security, cyber security, financial security, communication security and security of trade routes. Congress will evolve suitable policies to address each of these subjects

J. Environment

• Congress will constitute an independent Environment Protection and Climate Change Authority to establish, monitor and enforce environmental standards and to enforce the National and State Climate Change plans.
• Congress will launch a Green New Deal Investment Programme focused on renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure and the creation of green jobs
• Congress will strengthen the National Clean Air Programme in order to urgently tackle the problem of air pollution.
• Congress will work with state governments to stop the discharge of effluents into the rivers and water bodies of India
• Congress will protect the coastal zones of the country.
• Congress will provide clean cooking fuel at affordable prices to all households of the country.

Analysis of The Election Manifesto of Congress

The manifesto given by Congress is very appealing and attractive to the voters. It has covered all the aspects in which the current govt. is being criticised or has been lagging behind. However, this document is not legally bound to the political parties issuing them and political parties are often seen using their manifestos to misguide the voters. So, the voters need to understand the manifesto in Detail and ask the candidates about the procedure and details of the promises made in the manifesto.

To read the full manifesto in detail, you can click here…