Meghalaya Polls: Free Health Care To MSP For Farmers — Congress Makes 14 Promises In Manifesto

Meghalaya polls: Congress has released its poll manifesto with 14 promises for the Meghalaya Assembly Election. Check details here.

Guwahati: The Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) released its assembly election manifesto with 14 promises in Shillong on Saturday with a focus on farmers, health care and education of girls among others. The manifesto was released in the presence of the  All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, AICC in-charge of Meghalaya Manish Chatrath, MPCC President Vincent H Pala, manifesto committee chairman Celestine Lyngdoh besides other senior party leaders.

Addressing the media, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the manifesto was finalised after considering the problems faced by the people of the hill state.

The 14 commitments made by the Congress in the election manifesto are:

1. Your Health Is Our Wealth - Free Heath Care For All Citizens

We are committed to providing free health care for all our citizens under our soon-to-be-unveiled Free Health Care Scheme.

2. A Girl Child Is A Gift From God - Free Education For Every Girl Child

We are committed to providing free education to every girl child in Meghalaya from Kindergarten to XII standard. This initiative of ours will go a long way in empowering every girl-child to fulfill their dreams, ambitions and aspirations.

3. Minimum Support Price For Farmers

Our farmers are our pride. We will announce a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Ginger, Turmeric, Broomstick, Black Pepper and other agricultural products.

4. Free Roof For Every BPL Household

We will provide every BPL household with quality roofing materials in a phased implementation.

5.  Rs 500 Crore Corpur Funds For Building Infrastructure For Religious Gatherings

6.   Our Children Our Future - Dedicated University For Market-Ready Courses

We will establish a dedicated State University with a special focus on job-oriented and market-ready courses such as IOT (Internet of Things), BlockChain Technology, IT, and ITES.

7. Special Urban Police Force

We are committed to establishing a Special Urban Police Force which will be modern, people-friendly and equipped to handle city-based crime scenarios using the latest technology and equipment.

8. Free Power For BPL Families

We will provide 200 units of free power to each household with consumption expenditure below the poverty line (BPL).

9. Free LPG Cylinder For BPL Families

We will provide a free LPG cylinder quarterly to each household with consumption expenditure below the poverty line (BPL).

10. One Job For Every Household

We will create 1 job for every household in Meghalaya through the promotion of mass entrepreneurship.

11. Our Fourth Estate Our Pride - Pension For Journalists

The Fourth Pillar of our democracy has been neglected. We will reverse that trend. Substantial pensionary and other benefits for all accredited journalists, who have attained pensionable-age, will be our core commitment.

12. Dignity Four Our Teachers - No More Delay In Salary

We will restore the dignity of all teachers in Meghalaya. No more delay in salaries. Our teachers don’t have to resort to dharna or protests for their legitimate demands. We respect you and your profession and your justified demands will be fulfilled because we respect the dignity of your profession and acknowledge your selfless service.

13. Exclusive Women's Market

We shall establish an exclusive market for women where products with the “Proudly Made in Meghalaya” tag will be marketed and sold.

14. Megha-Power

We propose to augment the power supply in our state by an additional 500 MW through the adoption of clean and green technologies.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Congress had promised a “five-star Meghalaya” through “five commitments” if the grand old party was voted to power in the hill state.

While releasing the manifesto, Jairam Ramesh Said the cultural and independent identity of the state was under constant threat from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The senior Congress leader termed the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) coalition partners as mere puppets. He also slammed the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress by saying that it’s not TMC but JMC (Judas Mukul Congress) party.

The term of the 60-seat Meghalaya Assembly will end on March 15, 2023. The voting in the state will be held in a single phase on February 27 and the result will be declared on March 2.