The strength of the Congress party, and its ability to create a new future for Indians both rich and poor, young and old, urban and rural, and for its men and women, lies in the extraordinary qualities of both its leaders and the values that it stands for.
The India we are living in today is the result of the dreams and capabilities of great Congress leaders, who created the modern India over the last 50 years of independence.
The vision of a powerful, prosperous, peaceful and progressive united India is what drives the Congress party even today. We have the blueprint that works.
It is the Congress that fought for and won India’s freedom. It is Congress leaders like Gandhiji, Indiraji and Rajivji who have sacrificed their lives in the service of the country.
It is the Congress that was responsible for establishing and nurturing parliamentary democracy. It was the Congress that made our Constitution possible. It is the Congress that spearheaded social reforms to give dignity to those who were discriminated for centuries. It is the Congress that has preserved and protected the political unity and sovereignty of India. It is Jawaharlal Nehru who, more than anyone else, laid the foundation of the Modern Indian Nation-State.
It is the Congress that created the public sector to industrialise India and make it self-reliant, to take it to new heights of technological progress, to develop backward regions and provide employment to crores of Indians, particularly dalits and adivasis.
It is the Congress that abolished zamindari and ushered in land reforms. It is the Congress that achieved the Green Revolution and the White Revolution bringing new prosperity to our kisans and khet mazdoors and making India the largest milk producer in the world.
It is the Congress that promoted the scientific spirit and established the infrastructure and institutions that have made India a major nuclear, space and missile power, and a global leader in Information Technology (IT).
It is the Congress that launched extensive anti poverty and rural development programmes that have helped alleviate the distress of the most disadvantaged and deprived sections of our society and made a massive dent on rural poverty.
It is the Congress that empowered scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes through reservations and through social welfare and economic development programmes for their welfare and well-being.
It is the Congress, responding to Mahatma Gandhi’s call for Poorna Swaraj through Gram Swaraj, that promoted grassroots development through grassroots democracy in our villages and mohallas. It is the Congress that conceived and pushed through the Constitutional amendments relating to Panchayati Raj and the Municipalities.
It is the Congress that introduced and enacted extensive labour legislation to give workers in the organised sector and contract labour fair and remunerative wages and job security. It is the Congress that began the process of extending social security to the 93 per cent work force that subsists in the unorganized sector.
It is the Congress that pioneered the revolution in higher and technical education that has now rendered the Indian brain the most highly valued commodity in the world. It is the Congress that established the IITs, the IIMs and the RECs and that established the vast network of research laboratories.
It is the Congress that launched liberalization and economic reforms. It is the Congress’s policies that made India the world’s fourth largest economy by 1998.
Above all, it is the Congress that has maintained India’s unity while celebrating her many diversities.
The Congress is the only all-India party in the country, the only national political force with a presence in each and every region of this vast country. Whether in power or out, the Congress is a visible and tangible political force in villages, towns and cities all across India.
The Congress is the only political party that derives its strength and support from, and appeals to, each and every section of our variegated society. It is the only political party that has provided for reservations in its organization for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, 0BCs minorities and women.
The Congress is the only party whose philosophy on governance is rooted in democratic values, combining sustainable economic growth with social justice, and marrying economic liberalization to social liberalism. The Congress way is the way of dialogue, not discord. The Congress way is the way of accommodation, not acrimony.
The Congress is the only party whose philosophy of governance is based on a strong centre working purposefully with strong states and with empowered local self-government institutions. Rajniti Se Lok Niti, Gram Sabha Se Lok Sabha remains its objective.
The Congress has always been a party of youth. It respects age and seniority but youthful energy and dynamism has always been its hallmark. In 1989, it was Rajiv Gandhi who reduced the voting age to 18. It was Rajiv Gandhi who declared Swami Vivekanandas birth anniversary on January 12th as National Youth Day. It was also he who expanded the network of Nehru Yuvak Kendras to cover all the districts of the country.
The Congress has always been more a broad national movement than a mere political party in the conventional sense of the term. For 118 years, it has provided an unusually broad platform for people from diverse social backgrounds to come together in the service of the country. The Congress embodies the idea of India like no other party does.
For the Congress, Indian nationalism is all-inclusive and cosmopolitan, a nationalism that draws creatively from every facet of India’s rich and variegated heritage, a nationalism that is not narrow or bigoted but celebrates the contribution made to our composite culture by each of the religions of the land. It is a nationalism that has an equal and dignified place for everything Indian and for each and every Indian. It is a nationalism that integrates India emotionally. The BJP’s “cultural nationalism is a device for dividing Indians emotionally. The Congress unites the Indian nation through consensus; the BJP divides the Indian nation through confrontation.
The Congress is deeply concerned that secularism has come under the most severe and sustained assault in the past few years. For the Congress, secularism means full freedom and respect for all religions. It means equal opportunities for followers of all religions and no discrimination on the grounds of religion. Most of all, it means firm opposition to communalism of all kinds.
The misuse of any religion to spread hate and discord in our society is communalism. The misuse of religion to incite popular passions to ignite mutual antagonisms is communalism. Most Indians are religious. At the same time, most Indians are respectful of other faiths. Most Indians want to live with all other Indians, whatever their religion, in harmony and goodwill. But a handful of Indians have become self-appointed guardians of their own faiths. It is they who seek to destroy social peace. It is they who want us to be prisoners of a distorted past, invented and misinterpreted by them to stoke envy and jealousy and hatred between communities.
This is the real battleground for secularism. It is more than a majority-minority issue. It is actually a struggle between those who wish to preserve the essence of all religions and those who seek to deliberately distort that essence to undermine our composite nationhood for unacceptable ideological reasons and partisan electoral ends.
Congress policies have always been anchored in a vision of an economically prosperous, socially just, politically united and culturally harmonious India. These policies have never been reduced by rote to a mindless doctrine or empty dogma or simplistic mantra. The Congress has always created space for change. It has always been pragmatic. It has always been ready to respond to new challenges. In consequence, steadfastness to basic principles has never impeded responsiveness to new requirements.
The 1950s needed land reforms, community development, the public sector and the building of agricultural, industrial, irrigation, educational, scientific and other infrastructure. The Congress ensured that this happened.
The 1960s and 1970s needed a direct attack on poverty, a whole new approach to agricultural growth and rural employment, the exploration and exploitation of domestic sources of oil, and the nationalization of banks to meet the requirements of not just big business houses but also give priority to farmers, weavers, cottage industries and small industries and traders, as also to fulfill social needs and aspirations. The Congress ensured that all this happened.
The 1980s needed renewed emphasis on science and technology to solve the problems of the people, and the modernization of industry to ready India to meet the new challenges of the 21st century. It also required India to be ushered into the electronics, computers and telecommunications age in a significant way. The Congress ensured that this happened.
The l990s needed bolder economic retorms and liberalization and a much larger role for the private sector to accelerate growth and promote India’s integration into a rapidly-changing world economic system. A redefinition of the role of government in economic development, including Constitutionally-sanctioned Panchayati Raj Institutions and municipalities to function as units of local self-government was also needed. The Congress ensured that this happened.
The Congress makes a solemn commitment to the people of India: to restore peace among all of its peoples, to strengthen the secular order through emphasis on social harmony, cultural pluralism and respect for the rule of law, and to ensure a bright and secure economic future for every family in our country.
THE LAW OF THE LAND WILL BE ENFORCED WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOUR TO ENSURE
THAT SOCIAL HARMONY AND COHESION IS MAINTAINED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
THERE WILL BE NO COMPROMISE ON THIS.
-
Samajik Sadhhavna to ensure social cohesion and harmony by taking the strictest possible action against those who promote bigotry and hatred;
-
Yuva Rozgar to accelerate growth of productive and secure employment opportunities by around one crore a year so that each family has a viable livelihood.
-
Grameen Vikas to improve the income and welfare of kisans and khet mazdoors across the country;
-
Arthik Navotthan to unleash the creative energies of our professionals and entrepreneurs, the cutting edge of our middle class;
-
Mahila Sashaktikaran to provide for the political empowerment and full educational, economic and legal equality for women;
-
Saman Avsar to provide for equality of opportunity in every way for dalits, adivasis, OBCs and religious and linguistic minorities.
These six priorities constitute the foundation of all policies of the Congress.
|