The Rajasthan Congress on Tuesday released its manifesto for the upcoming state assembly poll due on November 25, promising a law for the farmers guaranteeing the Minimum Support Price (MSP), and expansion of the free medical treatment limit from ₹2,500,00 to ₹5,000,000 lakhs under the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme.
The manifesto also announced a law to guarantee complete school education, creating 1,000,000 employment opportunities- of which 400,000 are government jobs, and a new scheme to recruit people at the panchayat level to ease employment access for the youth at the ground level.
The party has promised to conduct a caste survey which was already notified by the state Social Justice and Empowerment Department on October 8, hours after chief minister Ashok Gehlot announced the exercise.
Launching the ‘Jana Ghoshana Patra’ at the state party office in Jaipur, the CM on Tuesday said, “Our government has delivered 96% of the promises made in the 2018 manifesto. Our 2023 manifesto is also a roadmap towards ‘Mission 2030’ and making Rajasthan one of the top states for which social security has been our priority in both the manifesto and the seven guarantees.”
The party has earlier also announced seven guarantees for the state where it promised a ₹10,000 annual allowance to the woman head of the family, a law for the old pension scheme, expansion of the subsidised cylinder scheme to over one crore families, purchasing cow-dung at ₹2 per kg, ₹15 lakh insurance per household for damages due to natural disaster, free laptops for the fresh college-goers, and English medium school-education for all the students.
Congress’s manifesto also committed to enact a Minimum Support Price Guarantee Act following the recommendations of M S Swaminathan’s National Commission on Farmers (NCF) in 2004. HT on November 19 reported that the party may propose such a law that will penalise anyone who doesn’t purchase agricultural produce on MSP, ensuring fair returns to the farmers.
In an attempt to woo the farmers, the party has also announced an interest-free agricultural loan facility of up to ₹2 lakh to all farmers from cooperative banks, expansion of 12 agricultural missions outlined under the state agriculture budget, and a detailed plan for the staggered implementation of the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP).
Commenting on the development, the president of Kisan Mahapanchayat, Ram Lal Jat said, “The MSP law, plan for ERCP, and the Congress’s slew of promises to farmers in their manifesto will be beneficial for the small farmers. The MSP law will surely enrich Rajasthan and its farmers. It will be a historic step in Rajasthan. The farmers are thankful to the party.”
While the party’s major opponent in Rajasthan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in their manifesto on Thursday announced a subsidised LPG cylinder at ₹450 to each Ujjwala scheme beneficiary, the Congress has committed to further reduce the cost of gas cylinders to ₹400 besides the party’s guarantee to provide every household under the National Food Security Act and Below Poverty Line categories with LPG at ₹500.
Highlighting the core priorities of the party if it forms the government, the chairman of the Congress manifesto committee and the state assembly speaker C P Joshi also said that the party will also implement a Small Traders’ Credit Card Scheme similar to the Kisan Credit Card Scheme which will provide interest-free loans up to ₹500,000 to small traders, shopkeepers, and young entrepreneurs, promoting economic growth.
The Congress has also pledged to expand the scope of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by guaranteeing 150 days of employment annually from the current 125 days and also include the auto and taxi drivers under the Gig Workers’ Welfare Act.
Both acts were introduced in the state assembly session in July this year,.While one of them is supposed to provide social security to gig workers and allow them to air any grievances, another one ensures a minimum income to the marginal people in the rural and urban areas and also a minimum pension of ₹1,000 per month in case of aged, disabled, or single women.
To ensure women’s safety in the state, the Congress also proposed the installation of CCTV cameras in public spaces, the appointment of security guards at every village and urban ward, reducing the average investigation time in sexual harassment cases, and setting up women’s courts on the lines of women’s police stations for addressing legal matters concerning women.
Meanwhile, the BJP, which has been cornering the Congress for the women’s safety issue in the last few months, said that a Mahila Thana will be set up in every district and a Mahila Desk in every police station besides an anti-Romeo squad in every city.
However, Joshi also announced a monthly free coupon for women to travel on state-owned buses, the expansion of free smartphones with an internet scheme, a scheme for special leave to be availed by women during their menstrual cycle, and 33% reservation for the women in the co-operative institutions, targeting the women voters of the state.
Enactment of an Accountability and Auto Service Delivery Act for good governance, introduction of a government-owned mobile-app based tele-medicine service, the Inclusion of In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) package Chiranjeevi Scheme, implementation of necessary measures and stringent punishments to prevent paper-leak incidents, and providing the youth with a career cell and an e-employment exchange are in the Congress’s commitments ahead of the poll.
For the development of the Dalits, other backward categories, most backward classes, and the tribal people, the party has also announced a slew of proposals such as establishing an Equal Opportunities Commission, modification of the reservation percentage aligning with the actual number of population that would be enumerated in the caste survey, and provide a monthly ₹3,000 scholarship to children of SC/ST, OBC, minority, and EWS to support their school education.
Vowing to the welfare of the minorities, the party has also promised to implement a robust Minority Development Policy in consultation with community leaders, and constitute an Empowered Committee to study the social, economic, and educational conditions of minorities.
Setting up a state-level grievance redressal committee for the specially-abled people, and providing them with an additional 100 working days for specially abled under the MGNREGA were also declared by the party in their manifesto.
Assuring to fulfil all the new series of promises made by the party, the CM also laid out the growth of Rajasthan in the last five years under his governance.
He said, “We are the first in the country who formed the government based on the manifesto. Rajasthan is now at the 12th position in the country in terms of per capita income which was in 30th rank in 2017-18 during the previous BJP government. It is also the second in the country in terms of financial development which has been possible only because of our schemes. It shows that the Congress does what it says.”
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Congress never lie about their promises. But Modi keeps seeking sympathy during the election. Did they do anything except rebuking the Congress? They have repeated the same schemes we have implemented in their manifesto only to compete with us. People will never believe them. Congress will surely return to power this time.”
The party’s state president Govind Singh Dotasra, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, and other party leaders such as Jairam Ramesh, Mohan Prakash, and Bhanwar Jitendra Singh were also present at Tuesday’s event.
However, reacting to the Congress manifesto, BJP state chief C P Joshi said, “Congress’s manifesto is a lie. It again reflects the party’s attempt to cheat the people. Chiranjeevi is a scheme changing the name of Modi’s Ayushmann Bharat scheme. The manifesto neither mentions anything on the prevention of paper-leak nor the measures for women’s safety. It is only an attempt by Gehlot to come back to power. But all will go in vain. People saw their true colour.”
