Congress to promise smartphone to women, free power to poor in MP

By Anshuman Kumar

NEW DELHI: A smartphone to women in the age group of 15-50 years, free electricity to the poor and half the current rate to other households, and farm loan waiver in 10 days of coming to power — these are among the key promises that the Congress will list in its election manifesto in Madhya Pradesh, party leaders with knowledge of the matter said.

The party has prepared the manifesto and is planning to release it next week in the state which is going to polls this month. Called ‘Vachan Patra’, the focus of the document is woman security, employment generation and the agriculture sector, they said. “A smartphone is the first step in delivering women security now-adays,” said a member of the committee that prepared the manifesto.


The party will promise to build an inter-district drinking water grid to ensure water supply to all regions and improve other rural infrastructure if it is elected to power. “There are districts where the Narmada water is not available. A grid can ensure channelizing water supply to those regions,” said the manifesto committee member.

To address unemployment, the manifesto will propose to bring a new investment policy with a focus on generating employment in every district. It will promise incentives like monetary benefit for unemployed youth till the investment policy takes shape.

It will also talk about developing agriculture corridors to help ensure remunerative prices to farmers and create new job opportunities. “In regions like Malwa which produce soyabean, supporting industry infrastructure would be set up to reduce the middlemen between the farmers and the market,” the committee member said, quoting from the manifesto.

It will promise to launch a scheme for farm loan waivers within 10 days if the party comes to power, as Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has been talking about in his lection rallies. Another will be Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath’s promise: construction of gaushalas in every block.

The manifesto will talk about the development of a Lord Rama Van Gaman Path as a major tourist and religious attraction in the state. The idea is to develop all the places where Lord Rama is believed to have stayed during his 14-year exile from Ayodhya.