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The newly-formed Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) on Saturday released its election manifesto presenting a grand vision for the development of the Telangana state along with an inclusive agenda for the equitable growth of all sections of society.
“The manifesto aims at 'Inclusive Development, focusing on Equity and Accountability (IDEA)', wherein we resolve to make the following promises to the people of Telangana to create a vibrant Telangana,” the party said while coming out with 66 specific promises and indicating the action plans for the development of education, healthcare sectors and other basic amenities among other things.
“Our election manifesto is based on what is possible on the ground unlike that of the TRS, which can simply push the state into a state of insolvency. Ours is a responsive and a responsible manifesto,” Union minister Jairam Ramesh, who is playing an important role in the state bifurcation matters said.
The Congress party sought to take full credit for the creation of Telangana state by listing out the steps taken at various stages in this direction. It particularly mentioned the representation made by a group of 39 Congress MLAs in support of the statehood demand in 1999, a year before the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) led by K Chandrasekhara Rao was born.
The two parties are contesting against each other in the ensuing elections in Telangana in a bid to make full use of the goodwill generated for them following the bifurcation. In an ongoing spat with its political rival, TPCC president Ponnala Laxmaiah accused the TRS of not only making false promises to the people and also giving tickets to those who betrayed the Telangana cause.
Four industrial growth corridors
On the economic front, the party promised to create four industrial growth corridors across various districts — one for manufacturing, fertiliser, thermal and hydroelectric power generation, one would be an export and dry port industrial corridor, third to be agriculture and horticulture and the fourth one for IT, film and television industry and pharmaceutical sectors.
All the growth corridors and the district headquarters will be connected with the 6-lane all-weather road network and the new industrial entrepreneurs will be encouraged with special tax holidays and other concessions for at least 10 years, it said.
In the educational sector, it promised new high quality schools and polytechnics right up to the the level of a revenue division, introduction of English medium in all the government schools, continuation of full-fee reimbursement to students in professional colleges, and extension of reservations in private educational institutions.
On the employment front, it has promised to conduct recruitments for 100,000 government jobs in the first year if it comes to power, raise the minium age for government jobs to 40 years from the present 35 years, provide one-time grant of Rs 10,000 to graduates for skill development. On the healthcare front, it would provide free healthcare access to all families besides promising to upgrade each district hospital to a medial-college-cum super-specialty hospital.
The manifesto also promised seven-hour day time free power supply to the agriculture sector, a pension of Rs 1,000 per month to the old and the disabled, a one-time grant of Rs 10,000 to farmers, full pay for the strike period along with a special increment for the government employees, Rs 1 lakh interest-free loan to the women self help groups (SHGs).
The new state will have a State Advisory Council on the lines of the National Advisory Council of the UPA government with intellectuals and experts in the social sector to advise the government on policies programmes and legislations.
The party also promised to end commercialisation in education and said it would not allow establishment of chain of schools by a single private educational society. It promised to bring out legislation on the right to public services and grievance redressal to enhance the quality of delivery of service to the people, clean and corruption-free government.
