Congress manifesto sells gaumutra in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal: With references to Lord Ram, Narmada river and cow urine, the Congress manifesto for MP Assembly polls bears a distinct saffron stamp. The party has promised gaushalas or cowsheds in every panchayat, commercial production of gaumutra (cow urine) and kanda (cowdung cakes) and development of a religious tourism circuit in Chitrakoot to retrace the mythological route traversed by Lord Ram.

The 112-page poll manifesto, released here on Saturday, also promises a host of measures for the conservation of the Narmada that is considered holy by Hindus.

Titled ‘Vachan Patra’, with 973 promises, the manifesto was released at a press meet in the presence of state Congress president Kamal Nath, state campaign committee chief Jyotiraditya Scindia and former chief minister Digvijay Singh, promises to institute a ‘Jan Ayog’ or people’s commission to try corruption cases of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, besides declaring sops for farmers, unemployed youths, women and journalists.

The Congress vowed to close down the Vyapam or Professional Examination Board (PEB), which has of late gained infamy due to exposure of corruption. The PEB conducts tests for recruitments of government employees and admissions in different educational institutions.

Mr Nath described the manifesto “historic”. “For the first time, we have released a ‘promise manifesto’ instead of election manifesto,” he said, referring to the new nomenclature used by the party for the document. The manifesto, besides promising to develop cowsheds in all the 23,600 panchayats, assured voters that the party will develop religious tourism circuit in Chitrakoot, christened as ‘Ram Gaman Path’, the mythological route traversed by Lord Ram during his exile.

The party said it would develop religious places along the river at a cost of '1,100 crore, besides enacting the Maa Narmada Nyas Adhiniyam for its conservation.

The river has been at the centre of the state politics for a long time now, with the ruling BJP organising a Narmada Sewa Yatra earlier and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh carrying out a 3,500-kilometre “parikrama” (circumambulation) of the river.

The Congress also vowed to build roads along the banks of Narmada for the benefit of pilgrims.

Other poll promises made by the Congress included waiving off farm loans, provision of subsidised power for farmers, a monthly allowance of '10,000 to one unemployed youth.