Lok Sabha elections 2024: CAA, Article 370, Old Pension Scheme find no mention in Congress manifesto

The 48-page document does not mention the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act that the party opposed or Old Pension Scheme (OPS) or Article 370, which it supported.

New Delhi: From Rafale to Pegasus and demonetisation to electoral bonds, Congress has touched upon every single issue where it believes that the Narendra Modi government erred in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections but curiously has omitted reference to certain subjects the party had fought against.

The 48-page document, which also unveiled Congress's tagline 'Haath Badlega Halaat' (Hand to Change the Circumstances), does not mention the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act that it opposed or Old Pension Scheme (OPS) or Article 370, which it supported.

Congress has opposed the CAA inside and outside Parliament on the ground that the ruling BJP was making religion a criteria for granting citizenship, which was in variance with the existing laws. They also felt that the law was aimed at victimising Muslims.

OPS was one of the key election themes in Assembly elections, with the issue and its stand opposing the New Pension Scheme being credited for its victory in Himachal Pradesh.

When asked about its absence in the manifesto, Drafting Committee chairman P Chidambaram told reporters that the government has already set up a committee to review NPS and in such a scenario it was premature to comment on it.

"It (OPS) is not missing as such. A new development has taken place. The government has decided to review NPS...Government has come around to the view. So it is premature to comment now," he said justifying the omission.

Interestingly, the manifesto also remained silent on Article 370, which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir before it was scrapped. However, the Congress promised that it would immediately restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir besides vowing to amend the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to include the tribal areas of Ladakh.

The party has also promised that all anti-people laws passed by the BJP/NDA without proper parliamentary scrutiny and debate, especially those relating to workers, farmers, criminal justice, environment and forests and digital data protection, will be thoroughly reviewed and changed.

The cover page of the manifesto also had an interesting omission -- of Sonia Gandhi's image -- further signifying her receding political activity. On Friday, she did not take questions during the launch of the manifesto though a couple of them were posed to her.

Except for two photos during Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi shares image space with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Only Sonia, whose image is in the back inside cover, and former prime minister Manmohan Singh have their standalone images in the manifesto.