Rakesh Sharma Moneycontrol Contributor
Listen to part one of the episode here
OTHER KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE MANIFESTO:
- RBI AUTONOMY:
"Congress will respect the autonomy of the RBI in matters reserved to the RBI under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1939, including the formulation of monetary policy," said the manifesto.
Clearly referencing the difficult relationship that the government has had with the central bank - including Urjit Patel's resignation and Viral Acharya's warning that government interference in the RBI's functioning would have catastrophic consequences - the Congress promises to "reverse the unwarranted and illegal interference by the BJP government" into the functioning of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)."
The party promised to work closely with the RBI, re-start the process of credit delivery and "ensure sufficient liquidity" and cash in circulation.
Slamming ruling NDA government for denying "adequate credit to MSMEs", the Congress said that they created the NPA scare that brought lending to a virtual halt, adding that a one-size-fits-all approach drove companies into insolvency. The manifesto said that MSMEs were badly hit by demonetisation and a flawed GST rollout and that the government had shut out all sources of informal credit to MSMEs.
- OVERHAUL GST
"Congress will radically simplify the GST regime with a single moderate rate of tax, zero rating of exports, and exemption for essential goods and services. We also promise panchayats and municipalities a share of GST revenues," said the manifesto. “The GST 2.0 regime will be based on a single, moderate, standard rate of tax on all goods and services. The rate will be revenue neutral to the current indirect tax revenues of the Central and State Governments and will take note of the potential of GST 2.0 to boost their tax revenues,” states the manifesto. The Congress has also promised devolution of a share of GST revenues to Panchayats and Municipalities. “All assistive and adaptive aids, appliances and devices will be zero-rated under the GST 2.0 regime,” the manifesto adds.
- SCRAP SECTIONS 124A AND 499 OF THE IPC - SEDITION AND DEFAMATION LAWS
If voted to power, the Congress promises to scrap the British era sedition law, citing misuse and redundancy. Section 124A of the IPC, which the Congress proposes to scrap, states, "Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added." The British Raj had come up with the sedition law to thwart any rebellion against it.
It is worth noting that in the past five years, several student activists and human rights activists, journalists and writers have been booked under this law, including Kanhaiya Kumar, Hardik Patel, Umar Khalid, and five academics during the Bhima-Koregaon rally. The Congress has promised that it will omit Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (that defines the offence of ‘sedition’) and has promised to omit Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code and make defamation a civil offence. Two journalists and an activist were arrested in Assam under the sedition law over their protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill. More recently, it was the same law used to book a number of Kashmiri students in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack for allegedly celebrating the attack.
In a related area, the manifesto also promised to amend the Press Council of India Act, to protect “freedom of the journalists, uphold editorial independence and guard against government interference, apart from empowering the council to deal with fake and paid news."
- LAW AGAINST HATE CRIMES
In relation to the growing incidences of lynchings and mob-killings - be it for possession of beef or rumours of child kidnapping - the Congress manifesto proposes to bring in a new law to punish hate crimes. “We will pass a new law in the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha and in the Rajya Sabha to prevent and punish hate crimes such as mob-engineered stripping, burning and lynching. The law will contain provisions to compensate the victims and to hold accountable the police and district administration for proven negligence,” states the manifesto.
- REVIEW ARMED FORCES (SPECIAL POWERS) ACT
The manifesto also includes review of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and the Disturbed Areas Act in Jammu and Kashmir in order to strike a balance between the powers of security forces and the human rights of citizens and to remove immunity for enforced disappearance, sexual violence and torture. The courts have clarified that offences of these nature cannot be thought of as being in the course of duty for the armed forces. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surejwala clarified later, “We will not withdraw it without consulting the Army. It will be discussed on case to case basis, but not without consulting the Army. There are some areas, where AFPSA is required,” according to a report on India Today.
- 33% RESERVATION FOR WOMEN IN THE LOK SABHA AND STATE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES
Congress has promised to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. Congress has also promised a comprehensive review of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplaces Act, 2013 and has stated that it will extend the Act to all workplaces. Fiscal incentives to businesses that employ a certain percentage of women have been assured. Congress has also assured that it will set up a separate investigative agency to investigate heinous crimes against women and children.
- STATEHOOD TO PUDUCHERRY
Addressing Centre-State Relations, the Congress has promised full statehood to Puducherry. It also seeks to give Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh and restore Special Category Status to the North Eastern States. Significantly, it also seeks to withdraw the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which caused wide unrest in the North East only recently.
- SET UP FISHERIES MINISTRY
In recent times, fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been arrested by Sri Lankan authorities for straying into those waters, while a similar fate was meted out to Gujarati fishermen by the Pakistani authorities. To avoid such repeated skirmishes, the Congress has promised a permanent mechanism with the neighbouring countries.
- A NEW PLANNING COMMISSION
Calling the Niti Aayog a corrupt body doing the bidding of the government, Rahul Gandhi and his party have promised to scrap the NITI Aayog and bring in a lean planning commission consisting of eminent economists and social scientists. “Congress promises to constitute a Planning Commission with re-defined responsibilities such as to formulate medium and long-term perspective plans and to function as an independent expert body to perform crucial functions in a federal system,” the manifesto states.
- JUDICIAL REFORMS
The Congress wants to amend the Constitution to make the Supreme Court a 'Constitutional Court' that will hear and decide cases involving the interpretation of the Constitution and other cases of legal significance or national importance, much along the lines of the American Supreme Court. It has also promised a Court of Appeal between the High Courts and the Supreme Court, to hear appeals from judgments and orders of High Courts. The Congress has promised that the number of POCSO courts will be increased and trials will be put on a fast track. "Retirement age of judges of Supreme Court and High Court as well as judicial members of tribunals will be fixed at 65 to prevent post retirement assignments for serving judges and allow more opportunities for qualified persons to serve as judges or judicial members," the manifesto states.
- RIGHTS OF LGBTQIA+
Promising to ensure the effective implementation of the judgment in the Navtej Singh Johar case (which decriminalised homosexuality), the manifesto also said, "We will immediately withdraw the Transgender Bill, 2018, pending in Parliament. Instead, Congress will introduce a Bill that will be consistent with the judgment in the NALSA case. The new Bill will be drafted in consultation with the LGBTQIA+ community."
Addressing the harassment suffered by the LGBTQIA+ individuals, especially at the hands of police forces, and echoing what Justice Nariman said in his judgement in the Navtej Singh Johar case, the manifesto said, "We will direct that gender sensitivity training, especially for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, be made mandatory in all government departments and organisations including the Armed Forces and the Police Forces."
REACTIONS
Finance minister Arun Jaitley called the Congress's promises ‘dangerous and unimplementable’ and that the agenda seems to be the ‘balkanisation of India’. Questioning the credibility of those who drafted the document, Jaitley said that points relating to Jammu and Kashmir have been formulated by the "Congress president's friend in Tukde Tukde gang," referring to separatist leaders and parties. In relation to Kashmir, he also criticised the absence of any agenda for Kashmiri pandits, calling the community’s ethnical cleansing the ‘biggest failure of independent India’. As for the Congress wanting to scrap sedition laws, Jaitley accused the Congress of shielding terrorists and being under the influence of Naxals, Maoists and Jihadis.
As Firstpost reported, Jaitley also picked up the agenda of civil recovery of farm loans from the Opposition party’s manifesto and called it a promise made out of ‘sheer ignorance’. “If 6% of the GDP is spent on one agenda (education), do the security forces and government employees go unpaid?” Jaitley questioned.
Several members of the opposition came out to call the Congress's manifesto "anti-national."
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