Congress Lok Sabha Poll Manifesto : Nyay Patra (न्याय पत्र)

At the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, the Congress presented their manifesto, or Nyay Patra (न्याय पत्र), for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Days before the general elections, the party’s top leaders—including former presidents Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi as well as party chief Mallikarjun Kharge—released the poll manifesto.

The Congress placed a strong focus on Paanch Nyay, often known as the five pillars of justice, which include Yuva Nyay, Naari Nyay, Kisaan Nyay, Shramik Nyay and Hissedari Nyay in addition to the promises it made to voters in connection with the Lok Sabha elections.

Key Promises from Congress Nyay Patra

Congress Lok Sabha Poll Manifesto

Nyay For Unemployment

• The Congress declared that it will fill about 30 lakh approved positions at different levels of the central government.
• Create a new employment-linked incentive (ELI) Scheme for corporates to win tax credits for additional hiring against regular, quality jobs.

Nyay For Workers

• Congress has set a minimum salary of ₹400 per day for the entire country.
• We will ensure that the principle of ‘Same Work, Same Wages’ is enforced in order to prevent discrimination in wages for women.

Nyay For Health

• Congress was the first political party to acknowledge that health of the people and healthcare are the responsibility of the government.

• Congress introduced the first healthcare scheme in India and firmly believes that all citizens have the Right to Health.
• The implementation of universal healthcare would follow the Rajasthan model, which offers cashless insurance up to ₹25 lakh.

Nyay For Farmers

• As suggested by the Swaminathan Commission, the Congress will provide official guarantees to the Minimum Support Prices MSP that the government announces annually.
• We will establish farmers’ retail markets in large
• villages and small towns to enable the farmers to bring their produce and sell the same to consumers.
• Congress will formulate and implement a sound
• import-export policy for agricultural commodities, which will give paramount importance to protecting the interests and concerns of farmers.
• We will double the value of the output in dairying and poultry in five years.
• We will double the funding for R&D in agriculture in five years.

Religious and Linguistic Minorities

• The Congress will make sure that minorities have the same freedoms to choose their own laws, attire, diet, and language as any other citizen. We’ll support personal law reform. The communities involved must participate in and give their agreement for such reform to be implemented.
• As stated in Articles 15, 16, 25, 26, 28, 29, and 30 of the Constitution, we will respect and protect the fundamental right to practice one’s faith as well as the rights granted to religious minorities.
• Additionally, we shall honor and defend the rights of linguistic minorities as stated in Articles 15, 16, 29, and 30 of the Constitution

Nyay For Social justice

The Congress declared that it would propose a constitutional amendment raising the 50% cap on reservations for SC, ST, and OBC, as well as conduct a national socioeconomic and caste census to count the castes and sub-castes and their socioeconomic situations.

Nyay For Youth

• We will do away with application fees for government jobs and exams. The Congress stated in its platform that due to widespread unemployment, as a one-time measure of relief, the amount due including unpaid interest as on March 15, 2024, in respect of all student educational loans will be written off and the banks will be compensated by the government.
• We will provide fast-track courts to adjudicate cases of leaking question papers for job examinations and provide monetary compensation to the victims.

SENIOR CITIZENS, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, AND LGBTQIA+

• Following extensive deliberation, the Congress will introduce legislation to officially recognize civil unions between LGBTQIA+ couples.
• The National Social Assistance Program provides pensions to elderly, widowed, and disabled people under the austere monthly payment of ₹200–₹500 from the national government. The party declared that the Congress will increase this sum to ₹1,000 every month.

Nyay For Women

• The Congress declared, “We will reserve half (50%) of central government jobs for women starting in 2025.
• The Congress decides to implement the Mahalakshmi scheme, which will give every impoverished Indian household an unconditional ₹1 lakh annual cash transfer. The families at the base of the income pyramid will be considered poor.

Nyay For Sports

• For the purpose of registering sports federations, bodies, or associations, the Congress will pass separate legislation that will guarantee complete adherence to the Olympic Charter, permit autonomy and full accountability, and offer members and athletes redress against bias, discrimination, sexual harassment, abuse, wrongful termination, and other issues. Congress will offer exceptional and aspiring athletes under the age of 21 sports scholarships worth ₹10,000 a month.

DEFENDING THE CONSTITUTION

• We promise to end the arbitrary and indiscriminate suspension of the Internet.
• To combine the transparency of the ballot paper with the effectiveness of the electronic voting machine (EVM), we will alter the election laws. Voters may hold and deposit the machine-generated voting slip into the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) unit in addition to using the EVM to cast their ballots. The VVPAT slip tally and the computerized vote tally will be compared, the Congress
• We pledge to respect individual freedoms to travel and live wherever in India, to love and get married, and to choose what to eat and wear. We shall repeal any laws and regulations that unreasonably restrict an individual’s liberty. We pledge to modify the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and establish an automatic disqualification of membership in the Assembly or Parliament for defection, meaning departing from the original party on which the MLA or MP was elected, the Congress declared.

Nyay For MEDIA

• Over the past ten years, a sizable portion of the media has either lost or given up their freedom. Congress is scheduled to assist the media in rediscovering the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
• The Congress announced that it would alter the Press Council of India Act, 1978, giving the Council more authority to address the problem of paid and fake news.

Nyay For Economic Policy

• The Congress is committed to accelerating economic expansion and wealth creation. Our goal for the next ten years is to double the GDP.

• Economic justice is as important as political and social justice. Sound economic policies will ensure that India, a developing country, will attain the status of, first, a middle-income country and, then, a developed country.

Taxation AND Tax Reforms

• A Direct Taxes Code that Congress enacts will bring in a new era of direct tax administration that is fair, transparent, and unbiased.
• The Congress would implement GST 2.0 in place of the GST laws passed by the BJP/NDA administration. With a few notable exceptions, the generally acknowledged idea that GST should have a single, reasonable rate that doesn’t burden the underprivileged will serve as the foundation for the new GST system.

Foreign Policy

• The Congress declared that it will repair relations with the Maldives, endeavor to go back to the pre-conflict situation along our borders with China, and guarantee that our soldiers can once more visit places where both militaries previously guarded. Until this is accomplished, we will take the required actions to modify our approach to China.

For More Details Visit : Congress Lok Sabha Poll Manifesto