Congress party released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on April 5. Top party leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Malliakrjun Kharge were part of the release. Criticising the manifesto, BJP called it a ‘bundle of lies’ and that it is aimed at creating confusion among the voters. The party also shed ligt on how Congress haven’t fulfilled any of the promises it made in their previous manifestos.
Congress has made many promises in its manifesto from restoring Triple Talaq to removing an elected State govt, and U-turn on OPS. However, it has put no delivery dates on these promises. Above all, the pictures used in the manifesto are from Thailand and America and not India, said Assam CM and BJP leader Himanta Biswa adding, “Have they hired foreign agencies to draft their manifesto?”
The manifesto does not mention the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), which has been a focal point of the party’s campaigns in recent Assembly elections. When asked about OPS being missed out of Congress manifesto, Congress leader and former Home Minister P Chidambaram said, “It’s not missing. But the developments taking place in the last two or three months need to be considered. The government has appointed a committee headed by the Finance Secretary to review NPS and OPS and find a way in which objectives of OPS can be funded by a pension scheme. Unless we receive the report from the committee, it will be immature to act on it.”
Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also pitched into the debate and said, “There is a picture on water management in the Congress manifesto. This picture is of the Buffalo River in New York state. Till now they have been able to find out who was tweeting from their Social Media chairperson’s Twitter, but who sent them this picture? Under the Environment section, a picture from Rahul Gandhi’s favoured destination, Thailand has been put. Who is putting all this in their manifesto? ” Trivedi emphasized that the manifesto demonstrates the level of seriousness or the lack of it, with which the Congress has made it.
Congress has named its manifesto as ‘Nyay Patra’. ‘Pannch Nyay’ and ‘Pachees Guarantee’ is the broad theme of the party’s manifesto this time. The manifesto underlines that Congress will conduct socio-economic and caste census. It also promises to pass a constitutional amendment to raise the 50% cap on reservations for SC, ST and OBC. The Congress has also promised to restore statehood of Jammu Kashmir.
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