Congress promises to lift 800m people into middle class, new rights


Posted on 26th Mar 2014 05:30 am by admin

New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) The Congress Wednesday released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, promising a new right to health, policies to lift 800 million people into the middle class and GDP growth rate of more than eight percent in the next three years.

The manifesto, which the Congress claims was put together after more than 30 public consultations, mainly by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, seeks to enhance the party's approach of rights-based legislations by including six more rights.

It also promises an agenda to create 100 million more jobs for the youth.

The manifesto said that the party will put in place charter of minimum "social-economic rights", including "right to health, right to pension, right to housing, right to social security, right to dignity and humane working conditions, and right to entrepreneurship."

Congress president Sonia Gandhi released the manifesto at the party office here in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi and senior party leaders.

Setting out a 15-point agenda for India's socio-economic and political transformation, the Congress promised to bring "two-thirds of India's population - the skilled hands that build the country - into middle class."

The party said this will be done through a package of basic rights for all formal, informal, organised, regular and contractual workers.

"Our aim will be to provide them and all low-income families with economic security and a minimum standard of living to uplift their condition," the manifesto said.

The party is targeting people who were above poverty line but below the income level of the middle class.

The manifesto said the new rights will supplement other rights enacted during the 10 years of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance governments, including the right to food, right to information, right to education, right to employment, right to fight corruption.

"Together, these rights will provide an economic platform for people below the middle class to transform their lives through their own efforts than government handouts," the party said.

The manifesto said that economic growth and social justice were two sides of the same coin and must always go hand-in-hand.

It promised to restore 8 percent-plus growth rate within three years and take firm action to curb price rise and promote open and competitive economy to build India into a world leader in manufacturing.

The manifesto also talked of the new government's agenda for the first 100 days.

"The Congress will bring goods and services tax bill and direct tax code bill in parliament, announce a detailed jobs agenda to create 10 crore new jobs for youth," it said.

The Congress also promised to ensure that the unpredictable retrospective taxation was avoided and $1 trillion was invested in upgrading India's infrastructure.

It spoke of promoting a more flexible labour policy for maintaining competitiveness.

The manifesto said the party will promote greater integration with the global economy and encourage Foreign Direct Investment, especially in labour intensive sectors, to boost jobs.

The manifesto said the Congress has a record of achievements and accomplishments while on the other side was an ideology of hate, bigotry and prejudice.

"A vote for the Congress is a vote for fulfilling the aspirations of the youth of our nation, for ensuring that women lead a life of dignity," it said.

Releasing the manifesto, Sonia Gandhi said the party will separately bring out suggestions which could not be included in the document.

"Rahul consulted with people from different parts of India and incorporated their suggestions and aspirations. As it was not possible to include all suggestions in this manifesto, we will bring out the rest of the suggestions in the next few days," the party chief said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the manifesto attempts to cover the needs of all sections of society, from farmers, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, women and children.

"It is a forward looking document... it is in response to the needs of the people of the country," he said.

Apart from consultations with various sections, including porters, farmers and fishermen by Rahul Gandhi for the manifesto, the party received over 130,000 suggestions through a special website and social media platforms.

288 Like 54 Dislike
Previous news Next news
Other news

Heavy Rain: Heavy rains affected life in Kerala, red alert in eight districts

Incessant rains in Kerala for the past two days have thrown life out of gear. At the same time, t

Nitish Kumar, 130 MLAs march to Raj Bhawan

Patna, Feb 9 (IANS) Former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, along with 130 legislators belong

Appropriation Bill 2015-16 cleared by Rajya Sabha

New Delhi, March 19 (IANS) The Appropriation Bill 2015-16 was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Thur

Wealthy Women List: Roshni Nadar is the richest woman in the country, Falguni Nair of NYKAA surpasses Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Fashion brand NYKAA CEO Falguni Nair has surpassed Biocon CEO Kiran Mazumdar Shaw to become the r

H-1B Visa: America gets enough applications for 2022, the limit of 65000 H-1B visas is fixed

Giving information, a US federal agency said that enough applications have been received to reach

Weekend curfew in Delhi: Rajdhani will remain closed on Saturday-Sunday due to Omicron, government's decision on positivity rate being 6.46%

Weekend curfew has been imposed in Delhi because of the rising corona case and the threat of Omic

Delhi HC issues Notice on ACs in two District Courts

New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued notice to two district court jud

MBSE HSLC Result 2022 Out: Mizoram Board HSLC result released, check this way through SMS

Mizoram Board Class 10th Result Declared: Mizoram Board of Secondary Education (MBSE) declared th

Modi 3.0 Oath Ceremony: Sheikh Hasina and Ranil Wickremesinghe will attend Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony, these countries are also invited

Modi 3.0 Oath Ceremony: The results of the Lok Sabha elections were declared on Tuesday (4 June).

IPL 2025 will start on March 22? KKR-RCB will clash in the first match; Know when and where the final will be played

The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) can start on 22 March. The opening match of I

Sign up to write
Sign up now if you have flare of writing..
Login   |   Register
Follow Us
Indyaspeak @ Facebook Indyaspeak @ Twitter Indyaspeak @ Pinterest RSS



Play Free Quiz and Win Cash