On Wealth distribution
Recalibrating its strategies for the 2024 elections, the Congress manifesto hinges prominently on the themes of ‘social justice and equity’.
In the manifesto, the party has promised to conduct a Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) to enumerate the castes and sub-castes and their socio-economic conditions.
If the Opposition alliance comes to power, the party also pledged to pass a constitutional amendment to remove the Supreme Court-mandated 50 percent cap on reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
The Congress’s poll strategy in the recent assembly elections also revolved around the plank of caste census and social justice, though it did not resonate with the electorate.
“We will first conduct a nationwide caste census to determine how many people belong to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and minorities. After that, we will conduct a financial and institutional survey in a historic step to ascertain the distribution of wealth,” Rahul Gandhi had said during the release of the manifesto in Telangana.
Gandhi’s renewed call to expand caste quotas and surveys for wealth redistribution has sparked debate with many seeking clarity on his proposal. However, Praveen Chakravarty, a key member of the manifesto committee dismissed such arguments as ‘ludicrous’.
Sharing a video message in X, Chakravarty said that Gandhi was referring to a more philosophical idea ‘Jitni Abadi, Utna Haq’ (rights proportional to population). “The Congress has nowhere in the 48-page manifesto mentioned that we will take away someone’s wealth and give it to someone else. It’s bizarre to even say that. We do not want to get into anyone’s house. It is the BJP who has been doing it,” he said
“Rahul Gandhi’s question was “shouldn’t we aspire for a society that is representative in the rewards and the benefits as per identity?. Now we can have a legitimate debate on that. Is it utopian or not utopian or is it too idealistic or pragmatic. Mr Gandhi believes it can be aspired for. It does not mean barging into someone’s house and taking their wealth away,” said Chakravarty.
On BJP’s Muslim League imprint claim
While PM Modi and the BJP have been attacking the Congress over the Muslim League imprint in the manifesto, the Congress leaders challenge the BJP to find a single reference to ‘Hindu or ‘Muslim in the document.
The manifesto is also silent on the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA),a dominant political issue in the 2024 general elections.
