Congress' manifesto for UP

Desperate to gain lost ground in UP after 21 years in exile, the Congress offered “a strong, clean, accountable, transparent, responsive and effective government” in its manifesto. The 27-page document released by Union ministers Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid appeared restrained compared to SP and BJP which were high on promises: free laptops, tablets, power, irrigation and even cows. Congress has stressed on infrastructural reforms and development. An intermediate college for every 2,500 households, residential schools for BPL minorities, 20 lakh jobs in the next five years, and all-weather roads to connect villages. It also pledged world class road quadrilateral connecting Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi and Allahabad and a new industrial policy for more investments. A well-played quota card to take the sting off Muslim reservation is visible. The newly announced 4.5% minority quota within 27% OBC gets pride of place alongside the aim towards a “sub-quota for socially and economically backward minority in UP commensurate with their population”. It promises an equitable solution to the Babri dispute saying, “If negotiations are to be held they must be between the parties to the dispute and must have a legal sanction.” The manifesto throws up a surprise: a sub-quota for most backward class commensurate with their population. Promising a corruption-free governance, the party pledges police reforms, women police station in every district, restoration of anticipatory bail and an anticorruption policy. Issue of division of UP would be studied by the states reorganisation commission .Lashing out at non-Congress governments of Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi asked voters to give five years to his party for development of the state. “These parties have looted your hard earned money, sold Ram, religion and caste...never talked about progress and development in the past 22 years,” Gandhi said at a poll meeting here. The Congress general secretary said that he visits other states marching ahead on the path of progress and the lack of development is UP fills him with anger.