The party also promised to increase the unemployment allowance from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500, and declared that it will increases wages under MNREGA from Rs 210 to Rs 350.
Interest-free loans to farmers, restoration of a pension scheme, free laptops to 50,000 students and special pay grade for government employees are just some of the promises in the Congress’s manifesto released on Wednesday in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh. Unveiling the manifesto in Shimla in the presence of State health minister Kaul Singh and party general secretary Sushil Kumar Shinde, chief minister Virbhadra Singh said that he is hopeful the party will continue to be in power in the state.
“This is a continuation of all that we have achieved for the development of the state in these last five years. I am confident that the manifesto, drawn up after a lot of deliberations, will find resonance among the voters in the state,” said Singh.
Among the notable offerings, the Congress has promised to provide interest-free loans of upto Rs 1 lakh to farmers, and creation of 1,50,000 jobs, if they come to power, apart from offering 50,000 laptops to students.
The party also promised to increase the unemployment allowance from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500, and declared that it will increases wages under MNREGA from Rs 210 to Rs 350.
To woo government employees, the party said that jobs for those, who have been employed for two years, will be regularised. The party also promised a decreased VAT on petrol and diesel, and said that the GST limit will be brought down from the existing Rs 20 lakh to Rs 10 lakh to protect small businessmen.
With the issues of women safety being a prominent poll issue, the party has announced a safety app and a toll-free helpline to curb violence against women. It also also promised hostels for working women and extending grants of Rs 1 lakh to widows for marriages of their daughters.
State Congress president Naresh Chauhan told DNA that the party’s manifesto has an edge over the poll offerings of the BJP. “We have specific promises, be in the employment sector, in health or in education, while the BJP has been unclear on many accounts. Some of their promises are things that we have already provided, like the 80 per cent subsidy on agriculture goods likes seeds, insecticide, pesticide, etc. We are now offering 90 per cent subsidy on these goods,” said Chauhan.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "DNA")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}