New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday held a meeting regarding the party's manifesto before the Lok Sabha elections. Led by former finance minister P. Chidambaram, the party's manifesto committee met at the party headquarters today afternoon and gave a final shape to the manifesto.
The key members of the panel, which includes senior leaders like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Shashi Tharoor, and Anand Sharma, also met on Monday, reported news agency PTI.
After the Congress manifesto committee meeting, P Chidambaram said, "We have prepared the draft manifesto. Now it will go to the CWC. They will finalize the manifesto. Tomorrow we will hand over this draft to the Congress President..."
The 50-page document will be presented before the party's top leadership and then the Congress Working Committee for final approval.
According to PTI sources, the party manifesto will focus on empowering youth, women, the poor, and farmers. They added the party is mulling a plan to tackle the menace of paper leaks and is likely to present its vision for bringing about transparency in government recruitment.
The 16-member panel includes Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, and former Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo.
The thrust of the manifesto is likely to be on the 5-nyay (five pillars of justice) promised by the Congress during party leader Rahul Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra'.
Additionally, the party will also aim to prioritize establishing a legal guarantee for minimum support prices and conducting a caste-based census to address government job vacancies.
Moreover, Congress is likely to give a thrust to various welfare measures, including extending financial aid to marginalized communities, ensuring their access to justice, and integrating them into state welfare initiatives, reported PTI.