Focus on 5 pillars of justice —Yuva Nyay, Naari Nyay, Kisaan Nyay, Shramik Nyay and Hissedari Nyay — and 25 guarantees.
With a fortnight away from the first phase of elections, the Congress on Friday released the manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and promised to new GST 2.0, filling 30 lakh vacancies in government, and a national caste census among the major highlights.
The Congress manifesto, titled ‘Nyay Patra’ was released in the presence of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal and P Chidambaram.
Party’s manifesto focused on five “pillars of justice” (Yuva Nyay, Naari Nyay, Kisaan Nyay, Shramik Nyay and Hissedari Nyay) with 25 guarantees under.
Releasing the manifesto, Chidambaram a former union Finance Minister underlined the party’s view on the state of country under the ruling BJP, and asserted that democracy has been diminished in the country under the saffron party’s rule.
In its manifesto, the Congress said that if voted to power it will conduct a nation-wide socio-cconomic caste census to “enumerate the castes and sub-castes and their socio-economic conditions”.
It further said that based on the data it will strengthen the agenda for affirmative action.
The grand old party said that it will pass a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SC, ST and OBC categories.
The Congress said that it will respect and uphold the fundamental right to practice one’s faith and the rights guaranteed to religious minorities under Articles 15, 16, 25, 26, 28, 29 and 30 of the Constitution.
It also said that it will also uphold the rights of linguistic minorities guaranteed under Articles 15, 16, 29 and 30 of the Constitution.
The grand old party said that it will fill the “nearly 30 lakh vacancies” in sanctioned posts at various levels in the central government, teaching and non-teaching posts in central educational institutions, posts of doctors, nurses, paramedics and other supporting staff in central government medical institutions, and vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).
It also promised to raise the pension for senior citizens, widows and persons with disabilities under the National Social Assistance Programme which is currently Rs 200-500 per month to Rs 1,000 per month.
The Congress manifesto promises a new Right to Apprenticeship Act to provide a one-year apprenticeship with a private or a public sector company to every diploma holder or college graduate below the age of 25. Apprentices will get Rs 1 lakh per year.
The Congress also said that it had brought in the Right to Education (RTE) Act in 2009 which “transformed” education for children between the ages of 6 and 14. The party said it will amend the RTE Act to make education from Class I to Class XII in public schools compulsory and free.
The Congress further said that it will launch a Mahalakshmi scheme to provide Rs 1 lakh per year to every poor Indian family as an unconditional cash transfer. The poor will be identified among the families at the bottom of the income pyramid.
The party in its manifesto also promised one-third reservation for women in state Assemblies that will be elected in the next round of Assembly elections in 2025.
It said that the one-third reservation for women will also be applied to the Lok Sabha that will be elected in 2029.
The party said it will give a legal guarantee to the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) announced by the government every year, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.
The party also said that it will save democracy and give citizens freedom from fear.
“We promise to restore freedom of speech and expression including full freedom of the media,” the manifesto read.
The Congress said after consulting with the Supreme Court and the Chief Justices of the High Courts, it will establish a National Judicial Commission (NJC). The composition of the NJC will be decided in consultation with the Supreme Court. The NJC will be responsible for the selection and appointment of judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court. It added that all vacancies in the High Courts and Supreme Court will be filled within three years.
The Congress in its manifesto also promised to amend the 10th Schedule of the Constitution and make defection an automatic disqualification of the membership in the Assembly or Parliament.
It further said that it will abolish the Agnipath programme and direct the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard) to resume normal recruitment to achieve the full sanctioned strength.
The Congress also promised the restoration of full statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.
The party said, “We 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.”
It also promised to restore the voters’ trust in the election process and said, “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 also said that it will replace the GST laws enacted by the BJP/NDA government with GST 2.0.
It said that the new GST regime will be based on the universally accepted principle that GST shall be a single, moderate rate (with a few exceptions) that will not burden the poor.
The Congress also said that as a “one-time measure of relief”, the amount due, including unpaid interest as of March 15, 2024, with regards to student education loans, will be written off, and the banks will be compensated by the government.
Polling for 543 Lok Sabha seats will take place in seven phases from April 19 to June 1 and counting of votes will take place on June 4.