The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) of opposition parties is expected to soon come out with a common agenda for the Lok Sabha elections, with the joint declaration of poll promises likely to be called 'India ki Guarantee.'
The promises are likely to focus on livelihood issues, social justice, social security, national security as well as the alleged misuse of investigating agencies to harass businesses and political opponents.
It is learnt that the opposition alliance could formally launch the joint agenda after the second phase of polling on April 26. The document is expected to have poll pledges under seven heads – employment, social justice, social security, healthcare and education, farmers, national security and an omnibus section that contains issues related to rule of law, corruption, misuse of investigating agencies, federalism etc.
On top of the INDIA agenda is the issue of unemployment. The guarantees in this regard are expected to include ensuring recruitment in government jobs and a proposed for 30 lakh government and PSU jobs in one year, an assured first job at Rs one lakh per annum under an Apprenticeship Act to every diploma holder or college graduate below the age of 25, reserving 50 per cent of all new jobs in the central government for women, an Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme for the urban poor and ensuring a minimum wage of Rs 400 per day for MGNREGA workers.
The guarantees under the social justice head are likely to comprise direct cash transfer of Rs one lakh per year to the oldest woman in every poor family, Rs 1000 per month to every unemployed youth, raising the existing 50 per cent ceiling on reservations and carrying out a comprehensive socio-economic and caste census, affirmative action in private sector jobs and immediate enforcement of women's reservation in Parliament and state assemblies.
The social security guarantees are expected to include six free LPG cylinders per year to every family that is below the poverty line, 200 units of electricity free to every family, implementation of the Old Pension Scheme in states governed by INDIA alliance partners, free delivery of ration to the doorstep of every BPL family, comprehensive social security for all unorganised sector workers, including gig workers, doubling of old age and disability pension, and doubling of the union government’s contribution for ASHA, Anganwadi and mid-day-meal workers.
On healthcare and education, the alliance is expected to enlist promises such as statutory universal and free healthcare in public health centres to all Indians, including free medicines, treatment, essential diagnostics, rehabilitative and palliative care, and surgery, a Chiranjeevi Health Scheme with free treatment up to Rs 25 lakh, one-time waiver of all student educational loans, as on 15 March, 2024, revisiting and amending the New Education Policy in consultation with the state governments and scholarships to girl students from class V to XII, and a one-time Rs 50,000 grant for pursuing higher studies.
A legal guarantee to the Minimum Support Price as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission and Rs 1000 per month direct cash transfer to every farmer are likely to be among the promises meant for farmers.
Under national security, the alliance could pledge abolition of the Agniveer recruitment under the Agnipath programme, implementation of One Rank One Pension as passed by the UPA government and a white paper determining the truth of the Pulwama incident of 2019 in which 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force were killed in a terrorist attack and other national security disasters.
The alliance guarantees are expected to talk about curtailing the power of the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation to curb alleged harassment of businesses and political opponents. The guarantees are expected to include a review of all the draconian laws, in accordance with the principle of natural justice and rule of law, and reaffirming and enacting the golden principle of criminal jurisprudence that ‘bail is the rule, jail is the exception’.
In the backdrop of the recent court-mandated revelations regarding the donors and the donations received by political parties under the now-scrapped Electoral Bonds Scheme, the opposition parties are likely to promise to set up a special investigation team to probe the alleged quid pro quo via bonds.
The guarantees could also include the removal of the alleged curbs on the freedom of expression and on the media, ensuring a level playing field for free and fair elections, and in the functioning of state governments and businesses, recalibrating the privatization of public sector undertaking companies, revamping the GST system, and strengthening federalism and protecting the rights of the states.
