NEW DELHI, February 28, 2024—Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Shri Arvinder Singh Lovely said that Congress workers will go to the people to get their feedback on the problems they face, the party will hold extensive discussions with the Congress leaders, ex-Ministers and workers before finalizing the Congress manifesto for the coming Parliamentary elections. Addressing a press conference at the DPCC office, Rajiv Bhawan, along with members of the manifesto committee, here today, Shri Lovely said that though India Alliance will have a common minimum programme at the national level, Delhi Congress will discuss Delhi-specific issues, as due to the BJP Government’s neglect of Delhi, the Capital has suffered on all fronts, stunting its development and growth. He said that Congress has been working for the people 24×7, with Shri Rahul Gandhi raising the issues affecting the common people on all the 12 months, but the BJP Government has only worked to protect the interest of the rich, select industrialists and discussed about the Government policies only with the elite, but our leader Shri Rahul Gandhi held direct discussions with the common people of Delhi like labourers, the homeless, teachers of Delhi University, youth, women, labour and farmers and RWAs to have first hand information about their problems. He said that through the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Shri Rahul Gandhi understood the problems of the common people, and took up their issues with the authority for solutions. He said that the Delhi Congress Manifesto Committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Ch. Anil Kumar to study the problems of the people and their remedies to be included in the manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.
Those present at the Press Conference were AICC General Secretary and In-charge of Delhi Shri Deepak Babaria, chairman of the Manifesto Committee and former president of the DPCC Ch. Anil Kumar, former Union Minister Smt. Krishna Tirath, ex-Ministers of Delhi Shri Haroon Yusuf, Prof. Kiran Walia, Shri Mangat Ram Singhal, Dr Narendra Nath, convenor of the Manifesto Committee Shri Chattar Singh, co-convenor Advocate Sunil Kumar, Shri Mudit Agarwal, Shri Ali Mehndi and spokesperson Shri Anuj Attrey.
Before the press conference, a meeting of the Manifesto Committee was held to comprehensively discuss the points to be included in the manifesto. Those present at the meeting were Congress MCD Incharge Shri Jitender Kumar Kochar, Sukhbir Sharma, Harnam Singh, Mahila Congress President Pushpa Singh, Sewa Dal Chief Sunil Kumar, Rajesh Garg, Rajiv Verma, Neetu Verma Wahid Qureshi, S.K. Puri, Hidaytullah, Ashok Bhasin, Gopal Rawat, Satish Kumar Gehlot, Pankaj Garg, Vijay Mohan, Tarun Tyagi, Krishan Verma, Sanjay Neeraj, Rajiv Sharma, Vipin Gaur including all committee members.
Shri Arvinder Singh Lovely said that Congress has always worked for the welfare of the people and address their problems. He said that the 50 issues in the Congress manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections will be based on the five pillars of Shri Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra—youth, women, bhagidari, workers and farmers—to give justice to lower and middle class, downtrodden, exploited sections, industrial workers, contract workers and others.
Shri Deepak Babaria said that the Congress manifesto will cover all sections of society, including their problems and solutions. He said that the Manifesto Committee has been constituted for the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections, and will take up issues concerning farmers, traders, labour, organised and unorganized labour, street vendors, OBC, SC, lower, middle and backward communities. He said that the BJP has tried to snatch the freedom of the people, and people’s reaction to crush their rights will also feature in the manifesto. He said that the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress Government, during its 15-year rule, had made Delhi one of the best cities in the world, which has been ruined in the past 10 years as the Central Government had totally neglected Delhi. He said that BJP had made several promises to the people, but none was fulfilled, but Congress will fulfill its promises, as it will come out with a manifesto which people could rely on.
Chairman of the Manifesto Committee Ch. Anil Kumar said that the energy derived from Shri Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra has motivated the Congress workers to interact with the common people with vigor to understand their problems and the steps needed to be taken to solve them. He said that Congress will spare no effort to win all the three Lok Sabha seats allotted to the party, and thereby all the seven Delhi Lok Sabha seats by the India Alliance by defeating the BJP. He said that in the past ten years, the people of Delhi have been going through untold suffering under the BJP rule, including labour, teachers, Government employees, industrial workers, those in the private and other sectors, as the BJP has been adopting double standards to the detriment of the common people. Ch. Anil Kumar said that the Congress manifesto will focus on 30 main issues and 20 other points will be added to make a comprehensive 50-point document, which will cover all sections of people, their problems and remedies. He said that the focus will be on price rise, unemployment, women, youth, Schedule Caste, OBC, health, protection of democratic institutions, JJ Clusters, in-situ development of JJ Clusters, power, water, administration, pollution, environment, traders, unemployment of urban youth, ex-Servicemen, Agniveer, DDA, land, villages, unauthorized colonies, cleaning of Yamuna, Bhagidari, farmers, Central Government policies, GST and such other issues directly affecting the people.
Former Delhi Minister Shri Haroon Yusuf said that the Congress party will come out with a practical manifesto as its suggestions and promises will be logical, could be implemented for the welfare of the people, progress and development of Delhi. He said that Congress had formulated the Rights to Information Act, RTI Act, Food Security Act to implement a transparent Governance model for the benefit of the people. He said that Congress had also ensured the all-round development of Delhi, but in the past 10 years, all development works in the Capital had been stalled. He said that the Congress manifesto will provide relief to all sections of people, as it will not be an empty rhetoric.
