LPG cylinder at Rs 500, 5 lakh new govt jobs in Cong’s manifesto outline at Chintan Shibir

“After three days of brainstorming, with the cooperation of you all, we have been able to come up with a document, which you can call Sankalp Patra or Dwarka Declaration. It contains work needed to be done by the organisation (Congress), programmes to oppose and seek answers from the government by launching agitation as well as the decisions that the first cabinet meeting of the Congress government will take after winning the 2022 elections,” Jagdish Thakor, president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC), said while addressing the Shibir on Sunday.

The declaration covered issues ranging from price rise to education, agriculture, healthcare, law and order, corruption, economy, social justice, youth and employment, women’s safety and empowerment, improving living conditions in cities and cleaning polluted rivers of the state. The declaration underlined that Congress’s ideology was secular, one that is wedded to social justice and parliamentary democracy and stood for freedoms of the people and entitlements-based empowerment, equality, non-violence and scientific approach.

The document promised to give homemakers cooking gas cylinders at Rs 500 a piece. It also promised to give free or subsidised electricity and reduction in tax rates and water charges with an aim to give people relief in times of price rise. The party also resolved to set up a model school in every taluka with an aim to protect people from commercialisation of education and provide free education to girls till graduation level.

The document also resolved to waive farm loans and halve farmers’ electricity bill, provide Rs 5 per litre subsidy to dairy farmers and to exempt agricultural equipment, fertiliser, seeds, pesticides, etc from GST. Another resolution was to give Rs 4 lakh compensation to the next of kin of those who have died due to Covid-19 and to set up what it called Tiranga Clinics in every ward in cities. Issues such as improving the law and order by cracking down on drug traffickers and those committing crimes against women were also given priorities.

“The education system is in shambles and there are no opportunities for employment. Then what are they giving to the youth? It’s liquor, drugs —opium, marijuana, etc. A white paper will be published on those who are neither giving the youth good education nor job but are dooming them by giving them drugs, alcohol, marijuana and hashish. The culprits will be identified and the Youth Congress and NSUI will grab the collar of ‘vahivat karta (those running the rackets) and the government administration,” Thakor said while making the declaration public.

Thakor said the party has also resolved to give five lakh government jobs to the youth if voted to power and create 10 lakh employment opportunities every year.

“As per government records, there are 20 lakh unemployed youths in the state. I assume there are 20 lakh more who are not registered. There are no plans for them. They want to recruit only those who subscribe to the ideology of their party. Through village committees, we will identify educated and uneducated unemployed youth and by abolishing the government’s practise of contractual hiring and fixed-pay jobs, we resolve to provide them permanent salary as per government norms,” Thakor said, adding, if the Congress forms the government, it will also constitute an enquiry committee headed by a sitting judge of the Gujarat High Court to look into alleged irregularities in recruitment, including incidents of question paper leaks.

Another resolution was to provide Rs 70,000 per year to the poor under the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY), first mooted by the party in 2019, and to also restore the old pension scheme for government employees. It also promised to make cities free from vehicular traffic congestion, crackdown on unauthorised constructions and to clean major rivers that are polluted currently. The document also promised to link minimum wages to inflation and give honorarium to the anganwadi workers, ASHA and midday meal operators as per the Minimum Wages Act. It also promised to regularise services of those who are serving the government for the past 10 years.

The party also resolved to promote small and medium enterprises to address inequality created by ‘anti-people’ policies of BJP. “Our workers have resolved to go to people with these sankalps,” said Thakor.