Lok Sabha election 2024: Congress manifesto promises 50% quota for women in govt jobs

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The Congress unveiled its manifesto, titled ‘Nyay Patra,’ for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, with prominent leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi present for the release. The manifesto underscores the party’s commitment to “Paanch Nyay,” comprising ‘Yuva Nyay,’ ‘Naari Nyay,’ ‘Kisaan Nyay,’ ‘Shramik Nyay,’ and ‘Hissedari Nyay,’ alongside outlining various election promises for the Lok Sabha polls.

Among the key pledges outlined in the Congress manifesto are:

• Filling approximately 30 lakh vacant positions in central government roles.
• Ensuring a national minimum wage of ₹400 per day.
• Adopting the Rajasthan model of cashless insurance for universal healthcare, offering coverage of up to ₹25 lakh.
• Providing legal guarantees for Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for agricultural produce, following recommendations from the Swaminathan Commission.
• Safeguarding the freedom of choice in attire, food, language, and personal laws for minorities, with a focus on encouraging reforms in personal laws through community participation.
• Conducting a nationwide socio-economic and caste Census and proposing a constitutional amendment to raise the cap on reservations for SC, ST, and OBC communities.
• Waiving application fees for government exams and student educational loans as a one-time relief measure.
• Recognizing civil unions for LGBTQIA+ couples through legislation following extensive consultations.
• Increasing the central government’s contribution to pensions under the National Social Assistance Programme to ₹1,000 per month.
• Reserving 50% of central government jobs for women from 2025 onwards.
• Enacting a separate law for the registration of sports federations to ensure compliance with standards, alongside offering sports scholarships to young athletes.
• Introducing the Mahalakshmi scheme, providing ₹1 lakh per year to impoverished Indian families as unconditional cash transfers.
• Amending election laws to combine electronic voting machines with voter-verifiable paper audit trails for enhanced transparency.
• Committing to protecting personal freedoms, amending defection laws, and empowering the Press Council of India to tackle fake news and paid news.
• Setting a target of doubling GDP within the next decade and replacing the current GST regime with GST 2.0 to ensure a single, moderate tax rate.
• Pledging to repair relations with the Maldives and restore border status quo ante with China.

The manifesto reflects the Congress party’s vision for governance and development, aiming to address various socio-economic challenges and uphold democratic principles if elected to power in the forthcoming elections.