Philosophy of the Indian National Congress (INC) is the bedrock of the Indian Constitution, said Gujarat Congress on Tuesday. Congress Party has striven to forge an India which is just, empowering and inclusive, added many Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee Leaders in a meeting on Tuesday.
Speaking to Vibes of India (Vo!), Hitendra Pitadiya, Schedule Castes Department, Gujarat Congress said, “Congress is pro-poor and BJP is not.” He added that our vision guarantees socio-economic and political equality for all, religious tolerance and secularism and equally importantly, the Right to Live with Dignity.
“Congress is the party that implemented land reforms, insurance, bank nationalisation, Right to Education Act, Mid-day Meal scheme, MGNREGA, food security and many. Hence, without any doubt, people should vote for Congress to have sustainable development.”
“Today, the Modi government is selling 10% of LIC to his Suit-Boot-Friends and allowing 74% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the insurance industry. Now, profit has become LIC’s mandate rather than the people’s welfare. The insurance sector was nationalised by Congress in 1956 to ensure a robust social security net for Indians across the nation. In 1950, over 50% of the existing insurance firms were in only four cities.
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India was created so that every Indian could protect their loved ones in times of crisis. Also, LIC has been able to invest Rs. 22.6 lakh crores in India’s Public Sector Units (PSUs).”
” In 1950, over 45% of India’s population was poor. Most Indians were unable to feed themselves. The average food grains availability per person was just 416 grams. That’s why the INC:
a) Abolished the zamindari system, which enabled almost two crore tenants to become the owners of the land they cultivated (about 57.7 lakh hectares across India).
b) Passed tenancy reforms to regulate rent paid by tenant farmers that ranged between 45%-75% of the total produce.
c) Enacted land ceiling laws across numerous states and passed the 34th constitutional amendment. This amendment incorporated most of the revised ceiling laws (of state governments) in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. So, it couldn’t be challenged in court on legal grounds.
By 1985 over four million acres of surplus land was re-distributed to landless agricultural labourers (including SCs, OBCs and minorities). This became a crucial safety net for the poor and vulnerable.
d) Undoing the land reform laws, the three farm laws imposed by the Modi government tried to force small farmers to sell their land to his Suit-Boot-Friends, but they failed in front of farmers.”
Today, the BJP government is auctioning profitable banks. It is also forcing PSU banks to give loans to Moiji’s Suit-Boot-Friends at low-interest rates and very favourable terms. Consequently, bank NPAs have mushroomed to Rs. 18 lakh crores in 2020, while loan frauds have jumped to Rs. 4.9 lakh crores. So crony capitalism is feeding on the poor people of India with the support of the government. The Congress nationalised banks, so the number of bank branches in India jumped from 8100 branches with Rs 4.6 lakh crores worth of deposits in 1969 to 1.41 lakh branches with Rs 83.6 lakh crore deposits in 2014.”
” Modi government has slashed the SCSP and TSP by over 50%. In 2014-15, the due allocation was Rs 95,450 crore, while the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) allocation was Rs 43,208 crore. The targeted allocation was Rs 10,689 crore. In 2015- 16, the due allocation was Rs 77,236 crore, while the SCSP allocation Rs 30,850 crore. The targeted allocation was Rs 8,792.70 crore, said the memorandum. This shows that there has been a drop in targeted allocation of about Rs 1,800 crore. SC-ST Sub plan was launched under PM Indira Gandhi which mandates that union/state governments earmark funds in proportion to the SC population for expenditure on schemes meant for SCs and STs.”
The combined votes of SC, ST, Muslims and OBC votes will be 82%. We will focus on addressing the issues of minorities, the unemployed and the poor. Our manifesto will be pro-people, i.e, pro-Gujarat.
The Assembly elections in Gujarat may be months away, the Congress has already started gearing up for the polls. In a conversation with Vibes of India (Vo!), Hitendra Pitadiya highlighted that “Over the past 70 years INC executed many pro-poor measures which are now at stake due to the Modi government”.
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