New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday announced "Seven Guarantees" in Rajasthan if the party gets re-elected in the November 25 state polls. Among a slew of schemes, the Congress promised recruitment at the panchayat level, 4 lakh government jobs and a caste census.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot were present to release "Jan Ghoshna Patra" at the state party office in Jaipur.
The manifesto lists the Seven Guarantees that had been announced by Gehlot — annual honorarium of Rs 10,000 to women heads of families, LPG cylinders at Rs 500 to 1.05 crore families, purchase of dung from cattle rearers at Rs 2 per kg, old pension scheme for government, laptops or tablets for students taking admission in government colleges, Rs 15 lakh insurance cover per family to compensate losses due to natural calamities and school education in English.
Manifesto committee chief C.P. Joshi said the Congress wanted to create a cadre of panchayat raj like state and Central services and a new policy would be introduced. He said 10 lakh jobs will be created and 4 lakh of them will be in the government sector.
For farmers, interest-free loans up to Rs 2 lakh will be given from cooperative banks and MSP will be given as per the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations.
The party promised 150 days of employment under MGNREGA in place of the present 125 days annually, the inclusion of taxi drivers in the Gig Workers Act, the Accountability and Auto Service Delivery Act for accountable and good governance, the formation of an inclusive policy think tank and a monthly honorarium for panchayati raj public representatives.
Doubling the amount for beneficiaries under the Chiranjeevi health insurance scheme from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh annually and interest-free loans up to Rs 5 lakh to small traders are among the other announcements made in the Congress manifesto for the Rajasthan elections.
The Congress also promised reservations to minorities on the basis of their population after the caste census.
