Congress’ Lok Sabha Election Manifesto: Rahul Gandhi Outlines Five Main Themes Of Congress’ Poll Pitch

The Congress will introduce a bill to amend the Constitution to make the Supreme Court a Constitutional Court, according to its manifesto released today.

Under that bill, the apex court will hear and decide cases involving the interpretation of the Constitution and other cases of legal significance or national importance.

Here are the other changes the party plans on making in India’s judiciary:

• To introduce bill to establish a Court of Appeal between the High Courts and the Supreme Court, to hear appeals from judgments and orders of High Courts.The Court of Appeal will sit in multiple benches of three judges each in six locations.
• Retirement age of judges of Supreme Court and High Court as well as judicial members of tribunals will be fixed at 65 to prevent post retirement assignment for sitting judges.
• To establish a National Judicial Commission for selection of judges for appointment to the High Courts and the Supreme Court. The NJC will be comprised of judges, jurists and parliamentarians.
• An independent Judicial Complaints Commission to investigate complaints of misconduct against judges and recommend suitable action to Parliament

In the last five years, the BJP government has spread hate and divisiveness, Gandhi said in response to a question. “Congress will work towards uniting India and bringing its people together.”

He further said that South India can feel the hostility from PM Modi. “I wanted to send message, 'I am standing with you',” he said, replying to a question on why he is contesting the Lok Sabha Elections from Wayanad, Kerala.

The party president is also contesting the elections from Amethi.

The policies of demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax carried out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have stalled India’s economic growth.

The money we plan on transferring to India’s poorest through the NYAY scheme will help jump-start the economy and lead to growth with jobs, Gandhi said today.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that the party’s manifesto for the upcoming elections revolves around five key ideas.

1. NYAY (Nyuntam Aay Yojana, a minimum income plan): Under this scheme, India’s poorest will receive money directly in their bank account to ensure they have a minimum monthly income of Rs 12,000.
2. Jobs: The Congress will fill 22 lakh job vacancies within the government in an effort to boost employment. Entrepreneurs won't need any permissions for the first three years of starting a business. Raise guaranteed days of employment under MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarentee Act) up to 150 days. Angel tax will be withdrawn.
3. Farmers: There will be a separate budget for farmers. If farmers default on loans, it will be considered a civil offense and not a criminal offence. Congress also promised to extend a farm loan waiver to all states.
4. Education: Double government expenditure on education to 6 percent of GDP by financial year 2023-24.
5. Health: Will strengthen government hospitals and the public health service. Double government expenditure on healthcare to 3 percent of GDP by financial year 2023-24.

The Congress is tasked with bringing back India’s narrative to “the real issues facing the people,” said Congress Manifesto Committee Chairman P Chidambaram. He highlighted unemployment, farmers’ distress and women’s securities as some of the biggest issues facing the country.

Here are the key highlights:

• The BJP's trying to take the narrative back to the old push of polarisation, divisiveness & hyper nationalism.
• We have to bring narrative back to the real issues facing the people
• The real issues are: First, unemployment; over 4 crore jobs have been lost
• Second issue is farmers' distress; average farmer has a loan burden of just over Rs 1 lakh
• Third issue is women's security
• Wealth and welfare are the two themes that bind the manifesto together
• We will create wealth and guarantee welfare

Rajeev Gowda, Convener, Congress Manifesto Committee said that the party manifesto was made after considering over 1.6 lakh inputs that came in online.

Non-Residential Indians from 12 countries participated in the manifesto, which was finalised after 121 public consultations and 53 closed door sessions, he said.

“The manifesto reflects the concerns, ideas, hopes of the people of India,” Gowda said. “Look forward to using the manifesto as a blueprint for governance in the year ahead.”

Our Manifesto Will Reflect People’s Voice, Not One Man’s View, Says Rahul Gandhi