Job Security Priority: Congress Ensures Right to Apprenticeship

In a significant announcement, the Congress unveiled its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, highlighting key commitments such as the Right to Apprenticeship, ensuring Minimum Support Prices (MSP) through legal backing, and proposing a constitutional amendment to lift the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs.

Titled ‘Nyay Patra’, the manifesto was launched at the AICC headquarters, with Congress leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi in attendance. It outlined five pillars of justice, under which 25 guarantees were presented. Among its pledges, the party vowed to fill approximately 30 lakh vacant positions across various levels of the central government.

Additionally, the Congress pledged to introduce a 10 per cent quota in jobs and educational institutions for economically weaker sections (EWS) of all castes and communities, without discrimination. It also proposed adopting the Rajasthan model of cashless insurance, offering coverage up to Rs 25 lakh for universal healthcare.

Further commitments included passing a constitutional amendment to lift the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs, along with conducting a nationwide socio-economic and caste census.

Emphasizing the importance of transcending divisions of religion, language, and caste, the party urged voters to elect a government committed to democratic principles. It promised a revamped style of governance and proposed a new ‘right to apprenticeship act’, ensuring one-year apprenticeship opportunities for diploma holders or graduates under the age of 25.

Additionally, the Congress pledged legal protection for Minimum Support Prices (MSP) as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission and pledged to restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Plans for an urban employment program to guarantee work for the urban poor and the abolishment of the Agnipath program were also highlighted in the manifesto.