Comments
Ahmedabad, Nov 12 The Congress party on Saturday assured the people of Gujarat that it would keeps its poll promises, and if elected to power, would make its poll manifesto the government agenda.
The party, which has been out of power for more than 25 years in the state, has promised up to 300 units of free electricity, the old pension scheme for government employees, price cap of Rs 500 per cylinder on domestic cooking gas, besides free education up to post-graduation for the girl child, 10 lakh new jobs, Rs 3,000 as unemployment aid, free medical treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh, loan waiver of up to Rs 3 lakh for farmers, and a subsidy of Rs 5 per litre for dairy producers.
The party has also assured Rs 4 lakh as relief assistance to the families of those who died due to Covid.
Senior party leader and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot released the poll manifesto at the Congress office in Ahmedabad.
“We made a new beginning in Rajasthan. Right in the first Cabinet meeting after winning the polls, we made the poll manifesto the government agenda. It became a government document and every official up to the district level, is driven by the agenda. I assure you that we will repeat that in Gujarat. After winning, in the very first Cabinet meeting, this manifesto will be adopted as a government document,” said Gehlot.
The party has promised to put the brakes on commercialisation of education and healthcare. It has also promised to implement a 25 per cent reduction in school fees, besides opening 3,000 English medium government-run schools.
He accused the BJP-ruled Gujarat government of failing to tackle the Covid crisis. “Gujarat was considered to be a capable state. How did it become so vulnerable during Covid times? Rajasthan, on the other hand, put up a strong fight and our Bhilwara model is well-recognised, not just in India, but globally. Why could Gujarat not do it? What were the limitations?”
The party released a charge sheet against the ruling BJP, in which it has levelled allegations of economic mismanagement, crony capitalism, corruption and scams, Covid mismanagement, unemployment, cheating of farmers, lack of attention to healthcare and education, etc.
Besides the Rs 4 lakh compensation to families of Covid-19 victims, the Congress has promised government jobs to relatives of frontline warriors, who died of Covid. Gujarat’s official Covid death toll stood at 11,040 as on November 11, 2022.
Alleging that the BJP’s rule had “zero governance” in the state, the Rajasthan Chief Minister cited the example of the Morbi incident, which claimed 135 lives.
The Congress manifesto also promises to undo the name change of the Motera cricket stadium in Ahmedabad from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel stadium to Narendra Modi Stadium. “How can you change the name of the stadium, when it was already named after Sardar Patel. We have started a campaign on this and will restore the name of the Sardar Patel stadium,” said Gehlot.
The Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) President Jagdish Thakor said, “This is the people’s manifesto and we are going to form a people’s government, with over 125 seats.”
The Congress has so far announced candidates to 96 of the 182 seats in the state.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.