Loksabha Elections 2024: Congress may promise 'right to employment' in manifesto

Congress has finalized the draft of its election manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections (2024) which is going to focus on 'five pillars of justice' and in which the party will focus on 'Right to Employment' making strict laws against paper leaks, conducting caste census and ending 'Agneepath' scheme.

The top leadership of the party is likely to make an announcement on 'Right to Employment' during a public rally in Badnawar, Madhya Pradesh. Both Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former party president Rahul Gandhi will be present in this meeting. A source said, 'This is the first time that such a scheme will be brought to give 'right to employment' to the youth of the country and some allowance can also be given to the youth.'

According to sources, the party will make provisions for strict laws and punishment against those responsible for paper leaks in the country and will suggest measures to bring transparency in government recruitments in its manifesto. The manifesto committee headed by former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has held long consultations regarding election issues.

The party's manifesto committee includes senior leaders like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Shashi Tharoor, Jairam Ramesh and Anand Sharma. Key members of the committee met at the party headquarters on Tuesday afternoon and finalized the draft of the document. They had a meeting here on Monday also. After the committee meeting, Chidambaram told reporters, 'We have prepared the draft of the manifesto. Now it will go to the Congress Working Committee where it will be finalized.

He said that on Wednesday he and the committee members will meet Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and submit the draft of this manifesto to him. Sources said the party's manifesto will focus on empowering youth, women, the poor and farmers. He said the party is considering a plan to deal with the menace of paper leaks and is likely to present its own vision to bring transparency in government recruitments.

In the backdrop of recent incidents of paper leak in Uttar Pradesh, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday that his party is preparing a concrete plan to make the recruitment process transparent and will soon put a vision before the people. The Congress leader also said that the future of the youth is the priority of the 'INDIA' alliance.

After raising the issues of unemployment and inflation on a large scale before the elections, Congress may announce a scheme for the youth on the lines of some developed countries like Germany. Under this scheme, youth are given training as well as a fixed honorarium.

The manifesto is likely to focus on 5-Nyaya (five pillars of justice), which the Congress had promised during the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' led by party leader Rahul Gandhi. The five pillars of justice of Congress are Youth Justice, Participatory Justice, Women Justice, Farmer Justice and Workers Justice.

Sources say the party will also focus on giving a legal guarantee to the minimum support price and promising a caste-based census in the country to fill government vacancies. Congress may emphasize on some welfare measures such as providing financial assistance to the marginalized sections of the society and ensuring that they get justice and become part of the state welfare measures. Sources say that Congress may also promise to end the new army recruitment scheme 'Agneepath' and restore the old recruitment process.