The Congress today released its manifesto ahead of Lok Sabha polls to announce a plethora of programmes if elected to power, in order to correct the course of what it called an ‘economic emergency’ in the country under the Narendra Modi government.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of having failed to deliver on its promises, Congress president Rahul Gandhi stated that everything in the manifesto ‘must be truthful’ with no false promises.
Speaking in New Delhi in the presence of senior Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram among others, the Congress president announced a few key ideas his party was committed to implementing if voted to rule.
Firstly, acknowledging that farmers’ distress was a real concern for his party, Rahul Gandhi stated that farmers defaulting on loans would no longer face criminal charges. It would instead be deemed as a civil offence.
Secondly, his party has promised the sum of Rs 75,000 per year to five crore of the poorest families under the ‘Nyay’ scheme. The money would go directly into the accounts of the farmers, the manifesto states.
Third, a single-slab Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be implemented across the country if the party is voted to power to streamline the process of tax-calculation and tax-collection.
Fourthly, Rahul Gandhi also noted that the Congress intends to fill up 22 lakh government job vacancies. Pointing out that there was the need to ‘jump-start’ the economy after the setback it had suffered under the BJP rule, the Congress president also added that 150 days’ of employment will be guaranteed by the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by his party.
Fifth, anyone starting a business would enjoy a ‘three-year tax holiday’ and also be able to start his enterprise ‘without any permits or clearances’, stated the Congress chief.
Next, ten lakh jobs will be created for the youth as per the manifesto and they would be engaged in afforestation and water body revival projects in rural belts.
Also, six percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be allocated to the education sector, stated Rahul Gandhi as promised by the Congress manifesto.
Describing the manifesto to be one which will usher in an economy which is ‘inclusive and forward-looking’, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that it ‘spells out the vision’ of the party. ‘All sections of society’ will be ‘taken care of’, he added.
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