Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released the Congress Party's election manifesto for the Punjab polls at the All India Congress Committee Headquarters in New Delhi on Monday, along with parallel releases in Chandigarh and five other cities in Punjab.
Singh was joined by Ambika Soni, Captain Singh, Asha Kumari, Randeep S Surjewala and other party leaders, when he released the poll manifesto for the state at the party headquarters.
Manmohan Singh said that the "election manifesto is the visionary document that promises the people of Punjab that we will undo the damage done by the previous governments in the last 10 years."
Here is a list of 13 things the Congress manifesto promises to do:
- "Drugs is the first thing we will attack and, in four weeks, we will end this drug menace in Punjab." He also promised rehabilitation for those affected by drug abuse and also to take steps to keep the youth away from drugs.
- The manifesto consists of welfare measures for the Dalits and other backward sections of the society.
- It also includes loan waiver for farmers standing at Rs 67,000 crore. The manifesto also states the failure of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government to check farmer suicides and incidents of sacrilege.
- "We will provide affordable electricity... We will reduce power tariff to industry from Rs 7.60 down to Rs 5," Captain Singh said.
- The manifesto aims at "rooting out mafia operating in the state" to increase generation of revenue in Punjab and bring its economy back on track. It has also accused the SAD government of having supported the mafia in 13 sectors, including transport, cable, liquor and lottery.
- "We have launched a programme called 'Har Ghar Mein Naukri' (Jobs in every household)'. We will monitor what jobs are needed. This will be overseen from the Chief Minister's Office. Till jobs are available, we will give Rs 2500 stipend to every youngster," Captain Singh said at the press meet.
- The Congress has also vowed to constitute an ex-servicemen cell in the chief minister's office and a separate department for defence personnel and war veterans.
- "We will pool land, purchased at market rates, which we will give to industries which guarantee jobs," he added.
- "We included a Re 1 cess on per bottle of alcohol, which directly serviced our requirement to provide for social commitments," Captain Singh said.
- The manifesto states that the Congress would abolish the red beacons on all vehicles, except emergency vehicles. Security given to politicians and officials will see a 90 percent cut while the use of helicopters will not be allowed to anyone, including the chief minister.
- The Congress has promised to restructure police stations and do away with the politician-police nexus through police reforms.
- The Congress manifesto promises to introduce a new Lokpal Bill to give the state the power to take action against any wrongdoer, including the chief minister. A third-party audit of all government expenditure over the past three years will also be conducted.
- The manifesto promises to abolish the "halqa in charge" system introduced by the SAD government.
The manifesto, the former PM said, points to "tremendous potential of the state in terms of agriculture, manufacturing, services, infrastructure, social services, in all these areas the present set up has not been able to make adequate use of the potential that exists in Punjab."
Heaping praise on Captain Singh, the former PM said: "Captain Singh's leadership is badly needed at this time because in him we have a leader of great vision. In Captain Amarinder Singh, we have a leader who has a wealth of experience. His commitment to the cause of development of Punjab is unrivaled. I believe that Punjab is in for better times under the leadership of Captain Singh."
Singh added: Captain Singh's government will undo all the damage and set a new pathway for a better tomorrow which will see that people will have a higher per-capita income, better distribution of income, better employment prospects and better infrastructure."
The Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), an organisation of retired military personnel fighting for the implementation of one rank-one pension (OROP) for the army, pledged its support to the Congress Party last week.
The Congress will also take a call on the final list of 40 candidates for the Punjab polls on January 10 in its Central Election Committee meeting headed by party president Sonia Gandhi. The party is awaiting the return of Rahul Gandhi from his vacation abroad after which it will start its election campaign in the state.
