Bokajan, Apr 2 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday released the party’s manifesto for the Assam assembly elections, with a promise to grant ST status to six indigenous communities and focus on 11 sectors such as governance, healthcare and industrialisation.
At an election rally here, Gandhi, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and other senior leaders unveiled the manifesto, which also promises to create an anti-corruption commission, probe large land allocations to corporates by an SIT, and give mandatory weekly day off to all police personnel.
The 11 resolutions in the Congress manifesto, titled ‘Raijor Istahar’, is spread across sectors like governance, identity, healthcare, infrastructure development, industrialisation, agriculture, rural and urban development, and climate change.
The Congress had already released its ‘Five Guarantees’ on March 29 during the visit of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
Polling for the 126-member Assam assembly will be held on April 9, while the results will be declared on May 4.
The Congress manifesto has promised that tea tribes and five other communities will be granted ST status if the party comes to power.
“The tea industry will be revived as a major industry. Tea workers will receive industrial minimum wages and benefits. Free school buses, drinking water, sanitation, roads and electricity will be ensured in tea garden areas,” it said.
Assam’s Moran, Motok, Chutia, Tai-Ahom, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea-Tribes communities have been demanding ST status for many years.
“BTC, KAAC and Dima Hasao councils will be strengthened with more financial and administrative powers. Displaced tribal communities will be rehabilitated,” the manifesto said.
The Congress also assured the people of Assam that within the first 100 days of forming government, the party will complete five key tasks to build public trust, followed by institution-building within one year and structural transformation within five years.
The five key tasks to be completed within the first 100 days are publication of a ‘White Paper’ on the state’s financial condition and formation of an anti-corruption commission, making land records, revenue and taxation system transparent and giving priority to locals in jobs and government contracts.
Initiation of flood relief and erosion-control measures, and fast-tracking recruitment to fill vacancies in hospitals and schools will also be done in the first 100 days.
“No MLA’s close relatives will be awarded government contracts or schemes. An independent Anti-Corruption Commission will be formed with judicial oversight and whistleblower protection,” the manifesto highlighted.
It also said that large land allocations – 10 bighas (over 3 acres) or more – to corporate groups will be investigated through an SIT, and land will be reclaimed and redistributed if necessary.
As part of institution-building measures, the Congress will ensure guaranteed annual grants and accountability dashboards for panchayati raj institutions, establishment of single-window citizen service centres, police reforms and fast-track courts for corruption, land and women-related cases, creating MSME clusters and entrepreneurship missions, and upgradation of district hospitals and expansion of digital classrooms.
In the five-year transformation goals, the manifesto promised fully decentralised and performance-linked governance with public reporting, integrated and digital governance system for all services, universal healthcare and 100 per cent school enrolment, reduction in floods and erosion impact, and doubling of income and sustained employment growth.
The Congress also promised a Rs 1,000-crore Assam Youth Entrepreneur Venture Fund to support first-time startups, improved housing, healthcare and welfare support to employees, giving priority to widows in housing, ration and healthcare schemes, and a mandatory weekly day off to all police personnel.
“Accredited journalists will be allotted subsidised land. Monopoly and control of media by influential political families or business groups will be curbed,” it said.
An Advocates’ Welfare Fund will also be created for lawyers and legal workers, healthcare infrastructure and human resources will be strengthened to reduce workload on doctors and health workers, and contractual teachers will be regularised and vacancies filled through a transparent process, according to the manifesto.
It said welfare boards will be formed for auto, e-rickshaw and taxi drivers with accident insurance.
“A Smart Parking Policy will be introduced in Guwahati and other cities to reduce traffic congestion. 24×7 drinking water and electricity will be ensured. A comprehensive Urban Flood Mitigation Plan will address artificial flooding,” the Congress manifesto said.
Besides, the Congress government will introduce a ‘Zubeen Garg Fellowship’ for youth in cultural fields, while a Centre of Excellence for Art and Culture will also be established.
“The Assam Accord will be fully implemented to ensure constitutional safeguards. Tribal lands will be protected under the Sixth Schedule and Forest Rights Act, and encroachment will be prevented,” it said.
The other promises in the document include annual financial aid for Satras and Namghars, cultural zones in Majuli, Sivasagar, Nagaon, Kaziranga, Kokrajhar, Karbi Anglong, Dhubri and Goalpara. PTI TR RBT
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