Kerala’s CPI(M)-led lDF on Tuesday presented to the State its manifesto for the May 16 Assembly election promising to make the State hunger-free and to provide homes with toilets to all in the next five years if it comes to power.
Pivoting on the idea of “Needed a new Kerala for us, a secular, graft-free, developed Kerala”, the document puts forward 600 proposals under a 35-point action plan that covers almost all aspects of life for the comprehensive and balanced development of the State.
“The manifesto reflects our commitment to developing Kerala by keeping intact its achievements so far and overcoming the shortcomings at a time when the State’s (Congress-led) UDF Government is enthusiastically implementing the Centre’s globalization programmes,” said lDF convener Vaikom Viswan while releasing the manifesto in Thiruvananthapuram.
Referring to the issue of liquor policy, one of the hottest topics in this election, Viswan said that the left was not in favour of Prohibition but would – if it came to power – bring down the sales and consumption of booze “step by step” with anti-liquor campaigns for which a movement modeled on the People’s Plan” programme and the literary Mission would be formed.
The lDF, if it forms a government, will ensure that there will be no rise in prices of essential items being sold through public establishments like the Civil Supplies Corporation, Maveli Stores and other public distribution outlets for the next five years, the manifesto, which promises corruption-free, clean governance, says.
The proposed 35-point action plan includes steps for creation of 25 lakh jobs – a million in the IT and Tourism sectors and 15 lakh in other sectors – in the next five years. Programmes will be initiated for doubling the number of foreign travelers visiting the State every year from the average 12 lakh to 24 lakh, it says.
Development of agro-based industries, ensuring minimum income for farmers, implementation of royalty for paddy sector, initiation of an Arisree (Rice Prosperity) scheme for developing rice farming, labour banks in all panchayats, production units based on cash crops and steps to support rubber sector are some of the proposals made by the document to support the agri-sector.
The manifesto, the release of which marked the start of the second phase of the lDF’s election campaign, has also proposed some important shifts in policies pursued so far by the Congress-led Government. It says that the participatory pension programme will be reviewed and steps will be taken to reintroduce statutory pension scheme if the left comes to power after polls.
Along with programmes for developing organic farming, a sector in which the CPI(M), CPI and their feeder organizations have already made remarkable achievements, there will be extensive schemes for waste management. The document also promises to make Kerala the cleanest State in the country through Suchitwa Keralam scheme.
On the development front, the manifesto promises to complete the Vizhinjam port, Kannur airport and Smart City Kochi projects in a time-bound manner and to develop Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode as metro cities. A number of smaller harbor projects will be completed in five years, it says.
The document puts forward a proposal to make Kerala self-sufficient in electricity generation by generating 2,500 MW by installing hydel, thermal and solar power projects.
Construction of smart roads, development of intra-State waterways and a Rs 5,000-crore coastal zone package are some of the other salient points mentioned in the leftist poll document.
On the welfare front, the manifesto says that the amount of all welfare pensions will be hiked to Rs 1,000 and that there will be steps to ensure to provide pension to all those deserving it. Special schemes will be implemented for development of Adivasi colonies as part of the package for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes welfare, it adds.