Congress president Rahul Gandhi releases his party's election manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi releases his party's election manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Mr Gandhi has been making a slew of promises that include Rs. 72,000 each year under his party's 'Nyay' scheme to five crore poorest families, single slab Goods and Services Tax (GST) and filling 22 lakh government vacancies, among others. He has also spoken about 33 per cent reservation for women, but whether it will be included in the Congress's manifesto will have to be seen.
On Monday, Mr Gandhi took a dig at the Narendra Modi government over its smart city project and said that "real smart cities are built by good leaders". He also promised that should Congress be elected to power, their government will move to directly elected Mayors with five-year terms and elected councils. To this, Mr Gandhi added that India needs to restore its water bodies and focus on afforestation, and that his party will employ lakhs of rural youth for the purpose if voted to power. For entrepreneurs too, Mr Gandhi has spoken about his party's plan to ensure that "anyone would be able to start their business without any permits or clearances, and also get a tax holiday for the first three years." Rahul Gandhi has also promised that he will scrap the NITI Aayog and replace it back with the Planning Commission - a leaner one.