Holding onto the names of its 40 candidates, the Congress is all set to release its manifesto for February 4 Punjab polls on Monday.
With the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh releasing the party’s poll document in New Delhi, the same will be released simultaneously at five other places in Chandigarh, Amritsar, ludhiana, Jalandhar and Bathinda.
Manmohan Singh, head of Punjab manifesto committee, has been keeping a low profile post 2014 lok Sabha debacle barring a couple of interventions, including the one he made during the Rajya Sabha debate on demonetization.
The manifesto, bearing the slogan ‘Navan Naroa Punjab liayie, Captain Di Sarkar Banaiye’, will have the pictures of party’s national president Sonia Gandhi, party’s national vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Dr Manmohan Singh and Punjab party chief Capt Amarinder Singh on the cover.
It has been learnt that the main points in the manifesto has been presented as ‘Captain de 9 Point’ including pledge to protect Punjab’s interests in the contentious Sutlej-Yamuna river waters dispute — Punjab da Pani, Punjab de Vaste (Punjab’s water only for Punjab), eradicating drug menace, promise to create one job per family, among others.
The manifesto, it has been learnt, will focus on 33 percent reservation for women in jobs and educational institutions, loan waiver for farmers and focus on employment generation in Punjab, along with a subcategory of green manifesto with schemes for green technologies.
The party’s poll document is also likely to commit itself to finishing VVIP culture in Punjab by ensuring non-preferential treatment to any office holder.
The manifesto may also include the concept of ex-servicemen as the guardians of governance at grassroots.