Lok Sabha elections 2024: Congress manifesto mere piece of paper, it fails to fulfil promises, say Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the Congress’ manifesto is a “mere piece of paper” and claimed the party has failed to fulfil promises in states where it has been in power.

The Congress released its Lok Sabha polls manifesto on April 5, promising right to apprenticeship, a legal guarantee for MSP, passing a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs, a nation-wide caste census and scrapping of the Agnipath scheme, among others.

The 45-page manifesto, titled ‘Nyay Patra’, focused on five “pillars of justice” and 25 guarantees under them.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Fadnavis said, “The Congress manifesto is a failure, and for that party, it is a mere piece of paper. The party had been power in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan but never implemented its manifesto. It is in power in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka but has not been able to deliver its promises.”

He also targeted the Congress over its promise to scrap the Agnipath scheme.

“The Army chief has stated that he wants to keep the armed forces young. The scrapping of the Agnipath scheme could endanger the country’s safety,” the BJP leader said.

Ask about issues of employment and youth missing from his party’s manifesto, Fadnavis said the BJP’s manifesto talks about encouraging more start-ups, (physical) infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and more investment in the agriculture and cooperation sectors.

“The focus on these sectors will have a cumulative impact on job creation for the youth in various sectors,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday released the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll manifesto, outlining his vision for ‘Viksit Bharat’ as he exhorted people to give another mandate to his party to shape India’s ‘destiny’ for the next 1,000 years.

Describing the party’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ as a document of his guarantee, Modi highlighted the achievements of 10 years of his government at the Centre and said the BJP has delivered on every promise it made so far. “This ‘Sankalp Patra’ strengthens the four strong pillars of a ‘Viksit Bharat’: ‘Yuva Shakti’, ‘Nari Shakti’, poor and farmers,” he said. The manifesto talks about implementing the ‘one nation, one poll’ initiative, preparing common electoral rolls, abolishing waiting lists for train travel, expansion of 5G networks and organising Ramayan festivals world over, among others.