Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)

Mangaluru, Apr 27: Congress national president Rahul Gandhi on Friday April 27 released the party's manifesto for the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections in a ceremony held at TMA Pai Convention Centre here.

He was accompanied by chief minister Siddaramaiah, KPCC president Dr Parameshwara, minister D K Shivakumar, Mallikarjun Kharge, Karnataka Congress in-charge K C Venugopal, P C Vishnunath, Janardhan Poojary and other party leaders.

After releasing the manifesto, Rahul Gandhi handed over the first copy to veteran leader Janardhan Poojary.

Addressing the gathering, Rahul said, "I am very happy to come here today and release the manifesto for Congress and for Karnataka. This is the voice of the people of Karnataka. This is not a manifesto that has been made by three or four people in a closed room. This has been made by going to every single place, every block, every area of this state. We have gone to people of Karnataka and asked them what they want in the manifesto.

"It is a philosophical difference between the Congress and the BJP. The Prime Minister likes to tell the people his Mann ki Baat, but this manifesto contains the mann ki baat of the people of Karnataka. It is my and our leaders' committment to you - like the last elections, we will do what we promised. We fulfilled 95 percent of the promises, and the reason is that we believe in the phlosphy of Karnataka, of Basavana who said 'nudidante nade'. We stood up to the ideals of Basavanna.

I would also like to point out the other side. Veerappa Moily spent hours of his time going to every blocks and district, but you will see that BJP manifesto will be decided by three or four people. There will be unwritten things as well, such as corruption, the idea of Reddy brothers, and most importantly it will not be the manifesto of Karnataka. It will be the manifesto of RSS and they will put what they think is good for Karnataka. I am not here to tell what the people of Karnataka want, I am here to listen to them.

"That is the difference - our opponents do not respect the people of Karnataka or Basavanna. They might garland his statue but they will not talk about him. The PM committed Rs 15 lac in every bank account but not a single rupee has come. He guaranteed corruption-free country, but one after the other scams were there - Rafale, Amit Shah's son, Nirav Modi. The PM committed to farmers that they will get correct prices, but they did not. The PM and the BJP do not do what they say. Truth speaks very loudly," he said.

"The last three months have been extrmemly enlightening experience for me. The love and affection you have given me has taught me a lot, on how to build a state, and think about the future. I come with all humility and thank you, my friends and the press, every single farmer, every youngster. We are really proud of this state. You have given our country direction. Every single state looks at Karnataka. It is state that has built a competitior to Silicon Valley. Karnataka respects everybody. I thank the people of Karnataka, as In this difficult time your confidence, your dignity is showing the path to the country and the world. I thank every single Congress worker for taking the love and affection that Congress stands for to the people. I am proud to say that the manifesto contains the voice of every single person of Karnataka," he said.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah said, "On behalf of KPCC, I thank Rahul Gandhi. He is the first national president of the party to release Congress' state election manifesto.  

"Every party prepares a manifesto during the time of election. But there is a difference between Congress and other parties’ manifestos. Congress implements all the points mentioned in its election manifesto. I referred the manifesto every time we presented the stage budget and hence could fulfill up to 90 per cent of the promises made. Only Congress can do this. None of the promises we made five years ago are unfulfilled.

"Our state ranks number one in more than 30 sectors which directly benefits people. BJP is spreading false news. PM Modi speaks about ‘Gujarat model’ to show development. But as per reports of government agencies, Karnataka is the best state in the country. No one can beat us in getting investments. 

"We are far better in law and order than BJP-ruled states. BJP says that 24 BJP members were killed under Congress rule. But the fact is that, only 11 out of 24 belonged to BJP. The other 13 do not belong to BJP. They are spreading wrong news.

"I salute the people of Karnataka for maintaining communal harmony and their intellectuality against BJP’s communal agenda. The Congress will definitely win more number of seats this time. We have indeed ‘Nudidante Nadeddiddeve’," he said.

Addressing the gathering, Dr M Veerappa Moily said that it was a historic moment as the Congress was releasing its manifesto at the hands of Rahul Gandhi in Mangaluru for the first time ever. "It took six months to prepare the manifesto," he said, expressing confidence in Congress' victory.

Dr G Parameshwara said, "In the last election manifesto, we assured progressive administration and good leadership for the state. Now having completed 5 years, we feel happy that we have fulfilled all promises. We gave a strong development-oriented administration.

"Under the leadership of Veerappa Moily, we have again prepared the manifesto. He traveled to each district, every area and collected points, opinions from people. Based on the people's suggestions he prepared this manifesto.

"I am thankful to Rahul Gandhi for his presence at this event. It boosts our spirit. We are proud of his presence. In future also we have many programme planned for the state and its people. This manifesto is our guiding light," he said.

Earlier in the morning, Janardhan Poojary received a rousing welcome to the venue.

Main points of the manifesto:

The Congress in its manifesto promised to create one crore jobs across the southern state across its term.

"We aim to create at least 15-20 lakh jobs each year in the state and provide programmes for skill development, encouraging entrepreneurship and increasing youths' employability quotient," said the manifesto.

Terming its 47-page manifesto a "people's manifesto", the party said it wants to create a hut-free Karnataka and would build 50 lakh houses in the state's rural parts - at the rate of 10 lac per year.

The Congress also said that it was committed to address the urban housing challenge and propose to build 15 lakh houses (3 lakh houses per year) here.

Claiming to the first state in the country to roll out the "Arogya Karnataka" universal healthcare scheme, the party said it will increase the budget allocation for health from the current 0.9 per cent to at least 1.5 per cent.

The manifesto lists over 30 areas where Karnataka is the number one state.

The manifesto identifies 16 different development sectors. Some of them are agriculture, education, women, youth, IT, energy, infrastructure, rural development etc.

In agriculture, the manifesto promises to build a more productive, climate resilient environment, by building an agricultural corridor and setting up a separate department for organic farming.

"Karnataka with its ten different agro-climatic zones and other bounteous natural advantages offers immense opportunies for high growth in agriculture and allied sectors. The INC will launch an iniative for developing sustainable agribusiness enabled through an ‘Agricultural Corridor for Karnataka’ for agriculture and it’sallied sectors covering production, infrastructure and industrial segments," the manifesto states.

The Congress also promises to double the farmers' income through a vibrant agricultural and rural ecosystem, through which it aims to provide 24x7 power to horticulture and animal husbandry sector from June 1, 2018.

"By forming a new organic farming department under the ministry of agriculture, we will work towards ensuring 100% pesticide-free Karnataka," it adds.

In education, the Congress promises 12 years of free education to every child beginning from grade 1. "We shall give autonomy to private institutions and make compulsory extensive declarations on the websites with respect to staff qualification, details of infrastructure, fee structures etc. Misrepresentation of facts will result in severe penalisation. Reimbursement of 25% of seats reserved for poor children will be done through direct benefit transfer to the student as a scholarship to uphold the dignity of the poor students."

All college students between 18 and 23 years will be given smartphones.

To curb communalism, a 'Communal Violence Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims Act' will be brought on the lines of the bill brought by the previous UPA regime at the centre. Establishment of forensic science university to enhance quality of specialists in investigation and setting up of forensic labs in all districts with the state-of-the-art technology are other key points.

The manifesto also lays stress on the promotion of Kannada and culture, by setting up Rural Classical Centres to teach classical dance/rural folk dance and songs/Janapadha etc, building a writers' guild, and several other initiatives. It also promises several initiaitives to empower the minorities and the backward classes.

The manifesto also promises health services to all, enhancement of regional road connectivity, end to corruption through transparent administration and focus on single-window systems etc. It also promises development of Mangaluru port to take care of exports from hinterland, and overall development of tier-II cities like Mangaluru.

Besides the main manifesto, the Congress also released regional manifesto that focuses on key issues related to districts.

Read the entire manifesto here