Congress

Elections to the Bihar State Assembly Election Jan-Mar 2005

Congress releases manifesto, promises to end crime, boost development

Promising to take effective initiative to establish social harmony and give a fresh thrust to development, the Congress on Saturday pledged to rid Bihar of crime.

In the 23-page manifesto for Bihar assembly elections, the Congress committed itself to making determined efforts for securing job reservations for the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes and the minorities in the private sector.

The manifesto, jointly released by BPCC president Ramjata Sinha and AICC in-charge of Bihar affairs Harikesh Bahadur, underscored the need for political empowerment of women and creating equal opportunities for jobs and education for the weaker sections and religious and linguistic minorities.

The document promised to work for improving and strengthening electricity, railways, roads and other infrastructure facilities, besides encouraging private and government investment in the infrastructure sector.

The manifesto said the party would also work for implementation of an employment guarantee programme for the poor, modernisation of rural industries, strict enforcement of the minimum wages act and raising the government expenditure on education to six per cent of the state's GDP.

The party also pledged to give a fillip to industrial development by encouraging setting up a chain of agro-based industries.

Later addressing the media, Sinha and Bahadur admitted that law and order posed a serious threat to the state and said if Congress MLAs got elected in large numbers they would be in a position to play a decisive role in government formation and thus the party would be able to put pressure on the government to strictly tackle crime.

When asked about what the Congress, which shared power with the RJD during the last five years, had done anything to improve the law and order situation, Bahadur said, ''Being in the Rabri Devi government was our political compulsion. But we kept on raising our voice against growing crime and, I feel, we were reasonable successful in making the government take steps to control crime''.

Bahadur parried a question on the possibility of the Congress forming a government with the RJD after the polls but said his party would work for installation of a secular government in the state.

He said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi would campaign for party candidates, but refused to give any direct reply to questions about whether she would also stump for the RJD and Ramvilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party, the two UPA constituent with whom the party is having a '' half-baked'' alliance.