Congress releases it's manifesto

The Congress manifesto stuck to the party’s time-tested path by promising several reformist steps to revive the economy and achieve broader inclusive growth, while seeking to restate its commitment to social uplift through a series of ‘rights’ that it wants to legislate. It vowed to provide equal incentives to three key stakeholders in India’s larger growth story — business, the youth-driven middle class and the poor.
The manifesto, released by party chief Sonia Gandhi,, promises to restore growth to 8%- plus over the next three years.
The document said the “risk of retroactive taxation” should be avoided, while at the same time promising a clear policy to ensure that taxes are paid by overseas entities in the jurisdiction where profits are earned when it comes to mergers and acquisitions, a reference to the cases involving Vodafone and other companies. The manifesto also pledged the appointment of a special envoy on black money. It showcased half-a-dozen new ‘rights’ on the social sector side. These include the rights to health care, housing-cum-sanitation, entrepreneurship, social security and dignity-cum-humane working conditions.
The manifesto took a bold stand on subsidies and said these must be given only to the deserving.
On the reservation front, the manifesto hinted at quotas for economically weaker sections among the upper castes. The manifesto “promises to find a way forward for introducing reservation in education and employment for economically weaker sections of all communities without affecting existing reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs”.
While spelling out its agenda for youth and students, the manifesto promised, to create 10 crore skilled jobs by boosting the manufacturing sector over the next 10 years as well as cheaper educational loans for poor students. Significantly, the party adopted a pro-gay stance, underscoring Congress’ opposition to the Supreme Court ruling making homosexuality a criminal act and promised legislation to rectify the situation.
Maintaining that “Congress is the only party that believes economic growth and communal harmony, and economic growth and social justice, are two sides of the same coin and must always go hand-in-hand,” the manifesto laid out “a 15-point agenda for India’s economic and political transformation.” Part of the agenda is a promise to “bring two-thirds of India’s population — the skilled hands that build the country — into the middle class through a package of basic rights for all formal, informal, organised, unorganised, regular and contractual workers”.
It said the six new rights “will supplement other rights such as rights to food, information, education, employment and the right to fight corruption”. The manifesto made efforts to woo back the business community and middle class. It promises to act, “within hundred days of forming the next government”, to bring to Parliament the GST Bill and the DTC Bill, besides announcing a detailed jobs agenda to create 10 crore new jobs for the youth.