By Vijay Krishna
Will the tweets from @RahulGandhi, the official account of the Congress President, define the scope of the party’s manifesto likely to be released on April 2? If it will, expect to find only the details for Gandhi may have already outlined much of what the party has to announce to its prospective voters.
Congress party has scheduled the release of the party’s manifesto for the ensuing general elections around noon on Tuesday. However, the tweets from the party president, especially since March 25, is a clear giveaway – Congress is likely to announce ‘Mega Doles’ this elections season.
On Twitter, Gandhi declared March 25, the day he announced his much hyped ‘Nyay Scheme’, a historic day. He tweeted: “Today is a historic day.. It is on this day that the Congress party launched its final assault on poverty. 5 Crore of the poorest families in India, will receive Rs. 72,000 Per Year #NyayForIndia is our dream & our pledge. The time for change has come.”
Since March 25, Gandhi has largely restricted to tweeting about what the party has to offer if voted back to power. The Nyay Scheme, GST reforms, jobs etc are some of the issues on which he has tweeted and can be expected to figure prominently in the Congress manifesto for the 2019 general elections. Take a look:
GST and Nyay Scheme
“They did demonetisation and Gabbar Singh Tax. We will give NYAY and a real GST. NYAY= Surgical Strike on Poverty = 72,000 Rs a year to India’s poorest 20%”
Jobs and employment
“India needs to 1. Repair & Restore our water bodies. 2. Regenerate & Afforest wasteland & degraded land. We will employ lakhs of rural youth in our gram sabhas to improve the environment.”
“Today, there are 22 Lakh job vacancies in Government. We will have these vacancies filled by 31st March, 2020. Devolution of funds from the Center to each State Govt for healthcare, education etc. will be linked to these vacant positions being filled.”
NITI Aayog
“If voted to power, we will scrap the NITI Aayog. It has served no purpose other than making marketing presentations for the PM & fudging data. We will replace it with a lean Planning Commission whose members will be renowned economists & experts with less than 100 staff.”
Business friendly government
“Youngsters, Want to start a new business? Want to create jobs for India? Here’s our plan for you: 1. ZERO permissions for the first 3 years of any new business. 2. Goodbye Angel Tax 3. Solid incentives & tax credits based on how many jobs you create. 4. Easy Bank Credit.” IANS