The HINDU Jaipur, November 17, 2013 Rajasthan Congress promises 5 per cent reservation to Gujjars In a largely populist manifesto released on Sunday, the Rajasthan Congress has promised five-per-cent reservation to the Gujjar community, announced sops for all sections of society and emphasised an intention to uphold “zero discretion, zero corruption and zero harassment”. Special Backward Class communities such as the Raika, Banjara and Gaadiya Lohar too have been included among beneficiaries of the reservation.Ostensibly with an eye on capturing the votes of the Meo Muslim community, disgruntled in the wake of the Gopalgarh riots, the Congress has claimed it will streamline the Mewat Development Board and promised the community “all facilities available to scheduled tribes”. The party has promised 35 kg of wheat free-of-charge to all households that don’t pay income tax; State-sponsored pilgrimage to senior citizen couples of any religion; half-a-million jobs to the State’s youth; and concessional plots to artisans and rehabilitation pension of Rs.1,500 for three years to unemployed widows belonging to the Economically Backward Class. On the education front, the party has promised a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh for meritorious dalit students at the secondary level and separate hostels for students belonging to minority communities. The sops for farmers include subsidised power, strengthening of the procurement system through optimum minimum support price, loans for purchase of modern equipment, promotion of distribution and export of locally-grown horticultural products, development of animal husbandry and dairy as a viable alternative to agriculture for the youth. “Last time when we came to power, the first thing we did was to get our manifesto approved by the Cabinet and we worked on its principals for the last five years,” said Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, releasing the manifesto at the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters here on Sunday. Mr. Gehlot was flanked by senior Congress leader and CWC member C.P. Joshi, State election in-charge Gurudas Kamat and State Congress president Chandrabhan among others. Reflecting on the Congress’ five-year rule, Mr. Gehlot highlighted astute financial management, higher education development, agricultural development and power generation. Mr. Gehlot also promised a Right to Health Act if the party came back to power in the State. However, this point was missing in the manifesto. The Congress’ defeat in the 2003 elections was often attributed to the discontent among of government employees, among other things. In light of this, the party has announced specific sops to government employees in the form of a wider medical-care net and a time-scale-based promotion policy.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 06:09:17 +0000
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