MVA poll manifesto promises jobs, subsidies, caste census, remote working policy

Mumbai:

In its election manifesto released on Sunday, the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance has promised a slew of sops and incentives for women, youth and farmers in the state including the five poll guarantees announced earlier this month.

The alliance, if voted to power in the polls scheduled on November 20, will initiate the process to fill up 250,000 vacancies in the state government within 100 days, create 1.25 million jobs in the state over five years, provide subsidised cooking gas cylinders and electricity to poor residents, provide a minimum support price to onion and tomato farmers and develop a Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Corridor passing through all villages visited by the revered leader. It will also introduce a ‘right to disconnect’ policy to protect the rights of remote workers, the manifesto says.

“We have envisioned Maharashtra’s progress built on five core pillars – agriculture and rural development, industry and employment, urban and city development, environment, and public welfare,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said while releasing the manifesto in Mumbai in the presence of Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala, state Congress president Nana Patole, NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.

Titled Maharashtra Nama, the manifesto says the five poll guarantees announced by the MVA – a monthly dole of ₹3,000 for poor women, debt waiver of up to ₹3 lakh for farmers, ₹4,000 monthly allowance for unemployed youth, ₹25 lakh health insurance and free medicines for all families, and a caste-based census with efforts to remove the 50% ceiling on reservations – would be implemented within 100 days of government formation.

In view of the ruling Mahayuti alliance’s focus on women voters, the MVA manifesto promises six cooking gas cylinders per year for women consumers at a subsidised rate of ₹500, free travel for women by state transport buses, free cervical cancer vaccines for girls aged 9-16 years, a ₹100,000 dole for girls upon reaching 18 years of age, and two optional days of leave for women per month during their menstrual cycle.

The alliance will frame a ‘Nirbhaya Maharashtra’ policy and conduct a safety audit in schools to prevent incidents like the Badlapur sexual assaults case, wherein two six-year old girls were molested allegedly by a security guard employed at the school. It will also launch a dedicated helpline to prevent digital crimes against women with expedited resolution through fast-track courts, the manifesto states.

As regards the youth in Maharashtra, the manifesto says that MVA will establish a ‘youth commission’ and introduce a new education policy. It will initiate the process to fill up 2.5 lakh vacancies in the state government within 100 days of assuming power, ensure the smooth functioning of the Maharashrta Public Service Commission (MPSC), and declare results within 45 days of exams. A single fee will be charged for all MPSC exams for which a unified smart card will be provided, the manifesto says.

The opposition alliance has also promised to introduce a policy to promote remote working and develop co-working spaces in small towns. It will formulate and implement a ‘right to disconnect’ policy which will allow workers to refrain from responding to mails and messages outside their work hours. “Maharashtra will be the first state in the country to implement this policy, recognising it as a matter of human rights,” the manifesto states.

For farmers, besides the debt waiver of up to ₹3 lakh, the MVA will promote cultivation of millets, provide a minimum support price for onions and tomatoes and promote onion- and tomato-based processing industries. The manifesto also promises 100 units of free electricity to households whose monthly consumption is below 300 units.

Though the manifesto does not say anything concrete regarding demands for reservation by various communities, it says attempts will be made to “rectify the confusion surrounding Maratha, Dhangar, Muslim etc reservation created during the Mahayuti government’s tenure.”

MVA wants to reduce FDI in Maha: Deora

Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora on Sunday said the MVA manifesto promises to ensure that Maharashtra gets 40% of the foreign investment in India when the state’s current share in FDI in the country was 52%. “Is this really the ambition they have for our state,” he asked.