Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about 'Modi Ki guarantee' but it is 'unsuccessful' and does not reach people, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge alleged on Wednesday as he launched his party's 'Ghar Ghar Guarantee' initiative under which it aims to reach out to eight crore households across the country.
Kharge launched the initiative from Usmanpur, Kaithwada in the North East Delhi parliamentary constituency and distributed pamphlets on the Congress's 'Paanch Nyay Pachees Guarantee'.
Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it is important to note that the 'Ghar Ghar Guarantee' initiative is being launched from a place from where, in 1978, the Congress used the 'hand' symbol for the first time. Interestingly, this time the Congress's campaign tagline is also centred around its poll symbol -- 'Haath Badlega Halaat'.
Kharge hit out at Modi, saying, "We give a guarantee that our government has always worked for people and will always do so. The prime minister talks about Modi ki guarantee, but his guarantee is unsuccessful and does not reach people."
Modi had promised generating two crore jobs a year but people never got to see those jobs, the Congress chief said, adding that he fails to understand why people encourage such propaganda and vote for those who 'lie'.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) talked about doubling farmers' income and providing a legal guarantee for a minimum support price (MSP) on crops, but did not honour those promises, he said.
"We want to tell the country that whatever we promise, we fulfil," Kharge asserted.
He also recalled how Congress governments in the past gave guarantees and programmes like MGNREGA, RTI, Right to Food and Right to Education even though it had not promised those.
Raising the issue of income-tax authorities issuing notices to the Congress, Kharge said, "This government wants to scare the opposition parties. It froze our accounts. The Supreme Court has intervened in the matter.... The I-T dept took Rs 135 crore from our funds. Can an election be held fairly in a democracy in such a manner? Shouldn't there be a level-playing field?" He said neither the BJP nor the RSS made any contribution in the freedom movement.
"We want to tell those people that the public wants democracy and to protect the Constitution," Kharge said.
He said the Congress is distributing its guarantee card to take its 'Panch Nyay Pachees Guarantee' to people. 'We want to take this initiative to eight crore households across the country,' Kharge said while launching the initiative.
"All Congress leaders and workers will take this card to households across the country and tell people what our alliance's government will do when it assumes power," he added.
The Congress's poll pitch is centred around 'Paanch Nyay' or five pillars of justice -- 'Yuva Nyay', 'Naari Nyay', 'Kisaan Nyay', 'Shramik Nyay' and 'Hissedari Nyay' -- as well as the guarantees it has given to people under these heads.
The opposition party will release its Lok Sabha poll manifesto here on April 5, with its top leaders addressing mega rallies in Jaipur and Hyderabad the next day.
The party has already launched its new slogan, #HaathBadlegaHalaat -- referring to its poll symbol -- on social media platforms.
In a post in Hindi on X, Ramesh said the Congress president launched the door-to-door guarantee campaign from the North East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.
"Congress workers will distribute these guarantee cards, printed in 14 different languages, to eight crore families across India over the next few weeks," he said.
Under the 'Yuva Nyay', the party has promised 'Bharti Bharosa' -- 30 lakh new central government jobs, according to a jobs calendar. Under 'Pehli Naukri Pakki', the Congress has promised a one-year paid apprenticeship for all educated youngsters at Rs 1 lakh a year or Rs 8,500 a month.
It has promised a law to ensure that government recruitment examination question papers are not leaked and also, better working conditions and social security for gig workers.
Under its 'Yuva Roshni' guarantee, the party has promised a Rs 5,000-crore start-up fund for youngsters.
As part of 'Nari Nyay', the Congress has promised the 'Mahalakshmi' guarantee of Rs 1 lakh a year for a woman in every poor family.
It has promised 50 per cent reservation for women in new central government jobs and doubling the Centre's salary contribution for all ASHA, anganwadi and mid-day meal workers.
The party has promised 'Adhikar Maitri' in every village to ensure that women get their legal rights. It has also promised doubling the number of hostels for working women.
Under 'Kisaan Nyay', the Congress has promised a legal guarantee to an MSP for crops following the Swaminathan formula, and a standing loan-waiver commission for farmers, if it comes to power.
It has also guaranteed insurance payment within 30 days of crop loss and a stable import-export policy to benefit farmers. The party has also promised no GST on inputs for farming.
The party has promised a national minimum wage of Rs 400 a day, including for all MGNREGS workers.
Under 'Hissedari Nyay', the Congress has promised a social, economic and caste census. It has also promised removing the 50 per cent cap on SC, ST and OBC reservation through a constitutional amendment and a special budget for the SCs and STs, equal to their share of the population.