The Congress party has also promised to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, give legal guarantee to MSP, conduct a nationwide socio-economic and caste census and scrap the Agnipath scheme.
Staff Report
The Indian National Congress on Friday, April 5, released its manifesto “Nyay Patra” for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former president Rahul Gandhi released the manifesto at All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi.
The Nyay Patra promises to ensure jobs for youth, statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, legal guarantee to MSP, conduct a nationwide socio-economic and caste census and scrap the Agnipath scheme. It also promised to ensure that minorities of the country will have the freedom of choice of dress, food, language and personal laws.
The party claims that it will encourage reforms of personal laws that must be undertaken with the participation and consent of the communities concerned.
The grand old party vowed to amend the election laws as it suggested a combination of electronic voting machines and ballot paper to conduct elections. The manifesto states, “We will amend the election laws to combine the efficiency of the electronic voting machine (EVM) and the transparency of the ballot paper.”
The manifesto further noted that voting will be through the EVM. However, at the same time, the voter will be able to hold and deposit the machine-generated voting slip into the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) unit.
The Kharge helmed party vowed not to interfere with personal choices of food and dress, to love and marry, and to travel and reside in any part of India.
The manifesto further mentioned that all laws and rules that interfere unreasonably with personal freedoms will be repealed.
“We promise 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,” reads the Congress manifesto.
The Grand Old Party has also promised to give 10 per cent reservation in jobs and educational institutions for EWS, bringing new right to apprenticeship act granting apprenticeship to every diploma holder or graduate below the age of 25. For urban poor, the party has promised an urban employment programme guaranteering work in reconstruction, renewal of urban infrastructure.
Speaking at the launch, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “This election is about those who are trying to destroy the Constitution and destroy democracy vs those who try to protect the Constitution. We believe once this fight is won, we will lookafter the vast majority of the people, that it is not run for few conglomerates, not a nation of monopoly, where there is fair competition among businesses. Constitution has never been at risk as much as it is today.”
