After Rahul Gandhi's remarks praising AAP, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh today welcomed Arvind Kejriwal's party for opening up its manifesto making exercise.
"I praise AAP that they opened up the manifesto process," he said noting with appreciation that the new party came out with separate manifestos for separate constituencies.
He at the same time said that Congress had initiated the measure to open up the manifesto making process.
Ramesh was replying to a question on whether Congress was not "stealing" AAP's style in manifesto making.
On December 8, when results of the assembly elections in states including Delhi were declared, Rahul Gandhi had said,"I think the AAP involved a lot of people who the traditional political parties did not involve. We are going to learn from that and do a better job than anybody in the country and involve people in ways you cannot even imagine now."
In his interactions with representatives from the SCs, STs and OBCs here, Gandhi today said that there is lot of cynicism about manifesto with views that nobody reads it once it is released and when the polls are over but for Congress its manifesto is the agenda of governance.
Gandhi said that his party fulfilled all the major promises it made in the manifesto.
Ramesh said that while Congress cannot make fake promises like abolishing income tax as for his party a manifesto is not only an election document but agenda of governance.
Ramesh, who is playing a key role in the manifesto exercise, said the document will be ready by first week of February and will be then thrown open for public feedback for one-and-a-half month. The manifesto will be first released in Hindi, English and Urdu and then in other regional languages.
Taking into account the needs of various states, the manifesto will try to give solutions to state specific issues like water, which is a big issue in South India.
"This manifesto will be vastly different from our manifestoes in 2004 and 2009. Rahul Gandhi has opened up the process of manifesto making this time," he said.
Asked why Congress has had a poor show in SC constituencies despite raising Dalit causes and Gandhi visiting Dalit hamlets, Ramesh said that Congress will continue to work for their empowerment irrespective of whether they vote or not vote for the party.
Ramesh also said that those promises of Congress made in 2009 and 2004 poll manifestos that could not be fulfilled will be included in the Congress poll document for 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
