Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will release the Punjab Congress’ election manifesto for the 2017 State Assembly polls.
Though the manifesto release date is yet to be finalised, Manmohan Singh has agreed to launch the poll document, defining the party’s blueprint for governance in Punjab, at a meeting with the Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh and All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Punjab affairs Asha Kumari in the national capital.
Capt Amarinder, along with Asha, discussed with the former Prime Minister the key points in the manifesto, which will now be given final shape by the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee’s manifesto panel led by Punjab’s former Finance Minister Manpreet Badal.
“It has been decided by the party to take Manmohan Singh’s views on the manifesto draft before releasing it in view of his expertise on economic issues,” said Asha while talking to the media persons later.
She said: “Congress does not believe in taking arbitrary decisions, without understanding the nuances of the subject, and felt it was important to involve him in the finalisation of the manifesto, given its impact on the people of Punjab.”
Capt Amarinder said that Manmohan Singh gave his valuable inputs on the manifesto – a comprehensive document addressing issues relating to every section of Punjab’s society.
Pointing out that the Badal government had plunged the people of Punjab into a state of despair with its “ill-conceived and anti-people” policies, Capt Amarinder said that the Congress manifesto was designed to bring the state back on the track of growth and progress.
The manifesto, he said, seeks to give concrete shape to the promises he had made to the people of Punjab, and which he is totally committed to realise.
PPCC president disclosed that the manifesto would be simultaneously released in key cities of Punjab to coincide with its release in New Delhi by Manmohan Singh to ensure that it is disseminated across the state, reaching out to the maximum number of people.