The ruling Congress on Wednesday claimed to have fulfilled, poll promises made in 2012 and released its manifesto for Assembly elections, 2017, wooing farmers, youths, women, employees and pensioners, seeking to address some lingering issues.

Starting with the slogan of ‘Vikas Aur Vishwas Phir Sey, Congress ka Saath Phir Sey’, the manifesto includes interest free loan of Rs One Lakh for small and marginal farmers in the state and 1.5 lakh jobs to youth in the public sector.

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The ruling party, which brought down the period of regularisation for contract employees from four to three years, now promises to regularise them in two years. It promises to regularise the PAT, Para, computer and other teachers, hike in the daily wages from Rs 210 to Rs 350 in state with provision of their regularisation after three years.

Eyeing employees formidable vote bank, the Congress manifesto commits immediate implementation of 4-9-14 (scale) benefits to employees and regularisation of ‘outsource’ employees, including those working in projects and societies within three years.

The Congress manifesto talks of restoring Pension scheme applicable in government service before 2004, and other benefits to pensioners. It includes a new scheme to grant adequate scholarship to ten meritorious students from Scheduled Castes (SC) for education in the country or abroad.

The Congress also promises to give free vocational education to girls and decreased the age limit of increased (Rs 1,300 per month) social security pension to elderly citizens from 80 to 75 years. It seeks to hike marriage grant of Rs one lakh for daughters of widows. (It was Rs 50,000 earlier).

“The Congress government has done unprecedented development in five years. We will take this agenda further,” said chief minister, Virbhadra Singh.

He released the document together with Congress general secretary and incharge, Sushil Kumar Shinde, co-incharge, Ranjit Ranjan and chairman of the manifest committee, senior minister, Kaul Singh Thakur in Shimla.

Briefing poll promises, Kaul Singh Thakur said the Congress would make the poll manifesto a policy document after forming the government as it did after 2012 elections.

He said the present government has been distributing 10,000 laptops every year among meritorious students of Class X and XII under the Rajiv Gandhi Digital Students Yojna.

“Now we promise to provide 50,000 laptops annually to check dropouts from government schools with one GB data. Out of this, 35,000 laptops would be given to school students, 12,000 to those at graduation level and 3,000 at post graduation level,” he said.
Thakur said Congress in its five year rule focussed on the all-around development with focus on opening educational and health institutions, especially schools and colleges in far-flung areas, and developing road infrastructure. “We will now strengthen these institutions.”