With promises to restore personal freedoms, recognise civil unions and improve health, the party puts forth a vision to mend India’s economic and social fabric.
By Harsh Mander
The Indian midsummer general elections of 2024 will be the largest democratic contest that the world has ever witnessed. The elections also. arguably, will be the most momentous in the journey so far of the Indian republic. The outcome will decide if India will survive as a secular democracy.
In an electoral contest of such profound ideological import, has the Congress, the largest opposition party, made a persuasive diagnosis of the many ways in which the Indian republic has lost its way? Not just this, has it constructed a forceful and convincing blueprint of what it will do to repair and rebuild if returned to power?
The 47-page manifesto of the Congress titled Nyay Patra, or Document for Justice, released on April 6, does attempt both of these. In its opening pages, it lays out its critique of the record of the Union government led by Narendra Modi, and then follows these with its commitments and plans if it is elected to office.
The document, although not perfect, is still thoughtful and compelling. Its indictment of the Modi years is unequivocal and persuasive. It speaks of its disquiet with the “climate of fear, intimidation and hatred” that has enveloped the country during the past decade. Every section of people lives in fear.
This story was originally published in scroll.in. Read the full story here.