Trinamool Congress releases Lok Sabha poll manifesto; promises several welfare measures, repeal of CAA

PTI

Kolkata, April 17

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday unveiled its Lok Sabha election manifesto, promising an array of social welfare initiatives, revocation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and stopping the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise if the INDIA bloc, their national-level ally, comes to power.

Christened ‘Didir Shopoth’ (Didi’s pledges), TMC promises to provide guaranteed employment, universal housing, free LPG cylinders, assured minimum support price for farmers, scholarships for SC, ST and OBC students, among other initiatives, to uplift the living standards of the masses.

Releasing the manifesto at the party headquarters here, TMC’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’ Brien said, “These are the promises we will fulfil as part of the INDIA bloc when it forms the next government.”

TMC walked out of the INDIA bloc in January over disagreements regarding seat-sharing with the Congress in Bengal. However, the Mamata Banerjee-led party has stated that it continues to be part of the INDIA bloc at the national level.

“We promise to control petrol and diesel prices through the formulation of a price stabilisation fund. We also promise to repeal the CAA, stop the NRC exercise, and will not implement the Uniform Civil Code,” senior TMC leader Amit Mitra said.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has vowed not to implement the CAA in West Bengal. In an appeal on the manifesto, she criticised the BJP government for attempting to undermine the federal structure of the country.

The party’s manifesto also promises to bring a constitutional amendment to Article 155 to ensure that “governors are appointed in consultation with state legislatures”. “The federal rights of all states will be firmly preserved... We will not accept the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal,” the party stated.

Criticising BJP for toppling democratically elected governments, the party declared, “The practice of toppling governments will be decisively curtailed. TMC will strengthen constitutional protections to ensure that democratically elected governments are not changed through devious means.”

“It will oversee appointments of the Supreme Court and High Court judges based on merit and eligibility rather than reciprocity, in line with the Supreme Court judgment, and its evaluation criteria and deliberations will be made public,” it said.

On the financial front, the party promised a comprehensive reform of the GST system.

The party also promised to delink Railway Budget from the Union Budget and allocate 5% of the country’s overall GDP for education.

The manifesto also promised to provide ration at the doorstep and 10 free cooking cylinders yearly to BPL families.

Reaching out to MGNREGA workers, the party promised increased income for labourers and a guarantee of 100 days of work for job card holders with a daily wage of Rs 400.

“There will be an increased allowance for higher education for students from SC and ST communities, and the MS Swaminathan Commission recommendations will be implemented, which legally guarantee farmers MSP,” he said.

Mitra said the cost of petrol, diesel, and LPG cylinders will be capped to ensure affordability, and a “Price Stabilization Fund” will be established to manage rate fluctuations.

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