Congress manifesto focuses on employment, promises caste census

New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and Party President Rahul Gandhi released the party’s manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Friday.

The Congress has outlined 25 guarantees to the public through this manifesto. Should the party win the election, it promises to fulfill these guarantees. Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Congress manifesto is dedicated to the poor.

Women from economically disadvantaged families have been pledged an annual assistance of Rs 1 lakh. Additionally, the Congress has committed to providing 50 percent reservation to women in government jobs by the year 2025.

Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Congress manifesto is centered around three principles: work, wealth, and welfare. “Work” entails providing employment opportunities.

Key promises in the Congress manifesto include maintaining the status quo in Ladakh, amending the Constitution to provide 50% reservation to women in government jobs, and regularizing contractual jobs in PSUs and government positions. Furthermore, reservation will be extended to SC/ST and OBC categories in private educational institutions.

An Act will be enacted to safeguard students like Rohith Vemula from caste-based harassment. Additionally, pensions for senior citizens, widows, and the disabled will be increased to Rs 1,000 per month.

The manifesto also guarantees free healthcare, including diagnosis, surgery, and medications, along with cashless insurance up to Rs 25 lakh for public healthcare. Measures will be taken to ensure proper distribution of funds. The Congress pledges to conduct a nationwide socio-economic and caste census to gather information on castes, sub-castes, and their socio-economic conditions.

Other promises include increasing the reservation limit for SC, ST, and OBC categories by 50 percent, filling all backlog vacancies of reserved posts within a year, and providing 30 lakh government jobs to the youth.

The Congress also vows to enact new laws and policies to prevent paper leaks, raise the salaries of Anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, and mid-day meal workers, and double the number of hostels for working women.

Furthermore, the manifesto pledges to remove GST from essential commodities for farmers and ensure a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price (MSP) along with the implementation of the Swaminathan formula.

In case of crop loss, farmers will receive compensation within 30 days directly into their accounts.