Why did you steal our 'guarantee' word? Congress asks PM Modi; announces 'Adivasi Nyay'

New Delhi: Congress today announced ‘Adivasi Nyay’ (justice for tribal community) which includes a legal guarantee for the MSP on various types of forest produce.

Addressing a press conference here today, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of stealing the word “guarantee” from the Congress, saying he copied it after the party used this word (guarantee) in various assembly elections like Karnataka and Telangana.

Referring to the ‘Bharrti Bharosa’ (employment guarantee), the Congress president promised that his party’s government would accord top priority to filling about thirty lakh vacancies pending in various central government departments and the PSUs.

He accused Prime Minister Modi of deliberately not filling these vacancies as this will include fifty percent reservations for SCs, STs, and backward which he (Modi) does not want to give. That is why, he added, these vacancies are filled on a contractual or daily wage basis.

In a jibe at Modi’s promise of providing 2 crore jobs per year, which would mean providing 20 crore jobs during the last ten years, he observed, he (PM) should at least have filled the 30 lakh government vacancies.

The Congress president said his party’s government would restore the earlier practice of apprenticeship which prevailed in the country till 1961 when all the industries would provide apprenticeships to candidates with a stipend for one year. He said that under this scheme, one year job will be guaranteed with a monthly stipend of Rs 8500 the moment one completes his/her graduation or diploma.

On the ‘Adivasi Nyay’ guarantees, he said, these were announced by former party president Rahul Gandhi at the Adivasi Nyay Sammelan in Nandurbar, Maharashtra today.

These include legal guarantees for various types of forest produce on the pattern of legal guarantees for other crops and strengthening the Forest Protection Act, besides bringing in PESA law.

In another major announcement about Adivasi Justice, he said, the Congress party will implement the SC/ST sub-plan policy, which had been first launched by the Congress government in united Andhra Pradesh headed by YSR Reddy.

Under this scheme, there will be an exclusive budget dedicated to SCs and STs. There will also be a provision that if the amount is not spent in the particular year, it will not get lapsed but carried forward to next year and spent on SCs/STs only.

Replying to a question about fulfilling these promises, Kharge pointed out that the Congress party delivers what it promises. He referred to the promise of “harr hath rozgar” (work for every hand) promised by the UPA. For this, he pointed out, the UPA government brought the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) that generated jobs for everyone in rural areas.

Similarly, he added, the Food Security Act was brought in follow up to the promise that nobody should sleep with an empty stomach. He said, the BJP government had just added five kgs of ration to it and was now claiming it to be its scheme by shouting that they were providing free food to 80 crore people, while it was the Congress scheme under the Food Security Act.