Congress manifesto promises 40% women quota in Uttarakhand police force
Polling for 70-member Uttarakhand legislative assembly will be held on February 14. The results will be announced on March 10
Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday released the party manifesto for the upcoming Uttarakhand assembly elections, promising to reserve 40% jobs for women in the police department, jobs to 400,000 people, and capping the price of a cooking gas cylinder to ₹500.
Polling for 70-member Uttarakhand legislative assembly will be held on February 14. The results will be announced on March 10.
Priyanka released the manifesto titled ‘Uttarakhand Swabhiman Pratigya Patra’ at a virtual rally that was live-streamed across all 70 constituencies. The manifesto promised to give priority to women in 40% government jobs and creation of a ‘tourism police’ force. The party also promised a 150% increase in the salary of anganwadi workers in the state.
After releasing the manifesto at a virtual event, the Congress leader accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Uttarakhand government of not doing anything over the past five years. She also asked the voters to take their vote, the “most powerful weapon” to bring change, seriously.
“The present government did nothing in five years. We still see only the work done by our government which preceded it. They did nothing because they did not have the intention,” she said.
“The Congress can bring change but only if you wake up to fight for your rights and for the future of your children,” the AICC general secretary said.
The manifesto was released in the presence of former chief minister and party national general secretary Harish Rawat, party state chief Ganesh Godiyal, leader of Opposition in state assembly Pritam Singh and party’s state unit in-charge Devendra Yadav.
Lauding the party state leadership to include promises focusing on women empowerment in the manifesto, Priyanka said, “It is the women of Uttarakhand, especially in the hilly areas, who have to do the maximum hard work. They have to work in the fields as well as manage the household. During the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, they suffered the most but hardly any political party talks about them. Our party promises to work for their empowerment, if voted to power.”
The Congress promised to cap the price of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder at ₹500 with government contributing its share and shouldering the burden with people.
Among other promises in the Congress manifesto, include free travel for women in state transport, filling up 57,000 vacancies in various government departments within a year of voting to power.
It also promised setting up of the state’s “first sports university” and withdrawing cases against farmers filed during protests against the now-repealed farm laws. The party also promised a comprehensive educational framework with increased budget allocation. The Congress also promised to “modernise sugar mills and improve the mechanism of payment to the sugarcane farmers”.
It also promised to resume “Mere Bujurg-Mere Teerth” (my elders my pilgrimage) along with pension to the senior citizens.
Harish Rawat, who is also the chairperson of the Congress’s election campaign committee, hailed the manifesto as “party’s action programme on the blessings of the people of Uttarakhand to be showered on them for next five years”.
“The party’s main focus will be to provide relief to the common man by giving LPG cylinder under ₹500 and 400,000 jobs in five years. We also promise health facilities in all villages using modern technology and self-reliance amount of ₹40,000 per year to 500,000 families in the state who are struggling to meet their ends,” Rawat added.
The Uttarakhand BJP, meanwhile, termed the Congress manifesto a “bundle of lies”.
“The credibility of Congress is zero. Not only the people know it, but the party itself is also aware of it. That is why it has made all the false promises in its manifesto which is a bundle of blatant lies,” BJP state chief Madan Kaushik. “Priyanka Gandhi who released the manifesto, should first answer on her promise of giving 40% tickets to women candidates. It didn’t happen, instead the party cancelled tickets of two women among the handful who were given the ticket by it for the upcoming elections,” Kaushik added.