Choosing to be better late than never in releasing its manifesto for Bihar, the Congress has kept up its stress on youth empowerment and promised employment to one lakh young people every year and promised a host of development programmes including many for minority welfare.
The 32-page manifesto was released by Bihar Congress chief and MLA Meboob Ali Kaiser and AICC in-charge for the state Mukul Wasnik on Saturday evening, two days after the first phase of Assembly polls and a day before the second phase. The Congress barely escaped the shame of being the last to release a manifesto as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) released its own on Sunday itself.
Vigorously rejecting the Nitish Kumar government’s claims of Bihar’s unprecedented development in the past five years, Mr Wasnik and Mr Kaiser said the Congress would ensure Bihar’s “real development in all spheres of life”.
Clearly competing with rivals such as the ruling JD(U)-BJP and the Opposition RJD-LJP, the Congress manifesto aimed at wooing Muslim voters. The party promised reservation for Muslims in jobs and education, establishment of a campus of the Aligarh Muslim University in Muslim-dominated Kishanganj, land for Patna’s Maulana Mazharul Haq Arabic and Persian University for construction of its own building, establishment of a Wakf Development Corporation to protect Wakf properties and to ensure income from Wakf is used for the community’s welfare.
A survey to ensure that every person affected by the 1989 Bhagalpur communal riots receives compensation would be conducted if the Congress rose to power. The party also promised to set up hostels for Muslim students in every district, steps to ensure fast implementation of the Prime Minister’s 15-point minority development schemes, and appointment of English and science teachers at all government madrasas.
Student union elections in Bihar’s colleges, currently banned and sparking regular protests, would be conducted if the Congress came to power, said the manifesto. Mr Wasnik said the Congress would take effective steps for implementation of the Integrated Youth Policy to provide jobs to one lakh youths every year.
The Congress also promised to expedite Bihar’s pending flood-control projects and set up a medical and an engineering college in each division. Checking irregularities in the MNREGS implementation and providing job cards to all were among the other Congress promises.