Congress Manifesto 2024- Promises to Reform Laws, Parliamentary Practices and Assurance of liberty to Citizens

Indian National Congress Party launched its Manifesto on 5^th April, at its Delhi Headquarter, for upcoming general elections of 2024. In its Manifesto, the party has made promises for almost all sectors. The main point of the manifesto which party claims, is to ‘reverse the damage’ that has been done by current ruling party in past 10 years.

With this view, the party has also made Promises to make long-demanded reforms in Judiciary, Parliament Practice, Police and legal system. The party has also assured to reform various laws related to different sectors to provide legal rights, fulfil long-standing demands and strengthen the liberty of citizens.

Here are the reforms that party has promised to make if voted to power-

Reforms in Laws for Different Sectors

In its manifesto, the party promises to reform laws and also to introduce new laws to various sectors as per their requirements and demands. Here is what party states in its manifesto-

Religious and linguistic Minority

• We will encourage reform of personal laws. Such reform must be undertaken with the participation and consent of the communities concerned.

• Congress promises to meet long standing demands for inclusion of more languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

ST/ST/OBC and Adivasis

• The Congress guarantees that it will pass a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SC, ST and OBC.

• We will enact a law with reference to Article 15(5) of the Constitution to provide for reservation in private educational institutions for SC, ST and OBC.

• The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 will be enforced diligently. A helpline will be established in every State’s capital and legal aid and paralegal support will be provided to the victims of such atrocities.

• We will enact the Rohith Vemula Act to address discrimination faced by students belonging to the backward and oppressed communities in educational institutions.

• Congress is committed to ensure that states enact laws in conformity with the framework of the central Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) to establish ‘Village Council’ and ‘Autonomous District Council’ as envisaged in PESA.

Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities

• Congress will review the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, remove the deficiencies and enforce the Act.

• We will take measures to ensure easy access to legal services for senior citizens especially in cases of neglect, abuse, abandonment, eviction and financial fraud.

• We will strictly enforce the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

LBTQIA+ Community

• After wide consultation, Congress will bring a law to recognize civil unions between couples belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community.

Health Professionals

• Congress will pass a law making it an offence to commit acts of violence against doctors and other health professionals while performing their duties.

Youth

• Congress guarantees a new Right to Apprenticeship Act to provide a one year apprenticeship with a private or a public sector company to every diploma holder or college graduate below the age of 25.

• We will provide fast-track courts to adjudicate cases of leaking question papers for job examinations and provide monetary compensation to the victims.

• We will amend the RTE Act to make education from Class I to Class XII in public schools compulsory and free.

• Congress will enact a separate legislation for the registration of sports federations/bodies/associations which will ensure full compliance with the Olympic Charter, allow for autonomy and full accountability, and provide recourse for members and sportspersons against discrimination, bias, sexual harassment, abuse, wrongful termination, etc.

Women

• Congress will delete the sinister provisions and bring the Amendment Act into force immediately. The one-third reservation for women will be applied to State Assemblies that will be elected in the next round of Assembly elections in 2025. The one-third reservation for women will also be applied to the Lok Sabha that will be elected in 2029.

• All laws will be scrutinised for gender discrimination and gender bias. The offending provisions will be removed or amended in the first year of the Congress government.

• We will ensure that the principle of ‘Same Work, Same Wages’ is enforced in order to prevent discrimination in wages for women.

• We will ensure that laws intended to prevent offences against women such as the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 are strictly enforced.

Labourers, Workers and Farmers

• We will introduce reforms in industrial and labour laws to restore the balance between labour and capital to meet our twin goals of full employment and high productivity gains.

• Congress will give a legal guarantee to the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) announced by the government every year, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.

• We will make a law to specify and protect the rights of gig workers and unorganised workers and enhance their social security.

• We will propose laws to regulate the employment of domestic help and migrant workers, and ensure their basic legal rights.

• Amend the laws to make workplaces safer for women workers and with facilities for care of small children. Facilitate travel to such workplaces.

Promises of law reforms to ensure freedom of Media

Congress Manifesto states,

• Congress will amend the Press Council of India Act, 1978 to strengthen the system of self-regulation, protect journalistic freedoms, uphold editorial independence and guard against government interference.

• Congress will amend the Press Council of India Act, 1978 to empower the Council to deal with the menace of fake news and paid news.

• Many new laws (e.g. the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023; Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023; Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023, etc.) give unbridled powers of censorship to the government. The first named Bill will be withdrawn. The restrictive provisions of the two Acts will be amended or deleted to eliminate backdoor censorship.

Reforms to Defend the Constitution

Under its section of ‘Defending the Constitution’, Congress Manifesto states,

• We promise to restore freedom of speech and expression including full freedom of the media.

• We promise to de-criminalise the offence of defamation and provide, by law, a speedy remedy by way of civil damages.

• We promise to end the arbitrary and indiscriminate suspension of the Internet.

• We will review the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and remove the provisions that restrict freedom of speech and expression and that violate the right to privacy.

• We promise to review all laws that interfere with the right to privacy and make suitable amendments to various laws to uphold the right to privacy.

• We promise to uphold the people’s right to assemble peacefully and to form associations.

• We promise not to interfere with personal choices of food and dress, to love and marry, and to travel and reside in any part of India. All laws and rules that interfere unreasonably with personal freedoms will be repealed.

• We promise that the two Houses of Parliament will each meet for 100 days in a year and the great traditions of Parliament that prevailed in the past will be revived and scrupulously observed. We promise that one day in a week will be devoted to discuss the agenda suggested by the opposition benches in each House.

We promise that the presiding officers of the two Houses will be required to sever their connection with any political party, remain neutral, and observe the age-old norm that the ‘Speaker does not speak’.

• We promise to strengthen the autonomy of the Election Commission of India, the Central Information Commission, the Human Rights Commission, the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Commissions for SC, ST, minorities and OBC, and other constitutional bodies.

• We promise to amend the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and make defection (leaving the original party on which the MLA or MP was elected) an automatic disqualification of the membership in the Assembly or Parliament.

• We promise to ensure that the police, investigation and intelligence agencies will function strictly in accordance with law. They will be brought under the oversight of Parliament or the state legislatures, as the case may be.

• We promise to put an end to the weaponisation of laws, arbitrary searches, seizures and attachments, arbitrary and indiscriminate arrests, third-degree methods, prolonged custody, custodial deaths, and bulldozer justice.

• We promise to enact a law on bail that will incorporate the principle that ‘bail is the rule, jail is the exception’ in all criminal laws.

• We will introduce comprehensive prison reform to transform jails into institutions of rehabilitation, reform and correction.

Judiciary

While promising reforms in the judiciary, the manifesto states,

• The independence and quality of the judiciary is reflected in the independence and quality of the judges. Congress will unswervingly uphold the independence of the judiciary. In consultation with the Supreme Court and the Chief Justices of the High Courts, Congress will establish a National Judicial Commission (NJC).

The composition of the NJC will be decided in consultation with the Supreme Court. The NJC will be responsible for the selection and appointment of judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court.

• All vacancies in the High Courts and Supreme Court will be filled within three years.

• Congress will amend the Constitution to create two divisions in the Supreme Court: a Constitutional Court and a Court of Appeal.

The Constitutional Court consisting of the seven senior most judges will hear and decide cases involving the interpretation of the Constitution and other cases of legal significance or national importance.

The Court of Appeal will be the final court of appeal that will, sitting in Benches of three judges each, hear appeals from the High Court and National Tribunals.

• More women and persons belonging to the SC, ST, OBC and minorities will be appointed as judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court.

• Congress will establish a Judicial Complaints Commission consisting of retired judges of the Supreme Court and retired Chief Justices of the High Courts to investigate complaints of misconduct against judges of the higher judiciary.

Assurance of liberty

To assure the liberty of citizens, the Congress Party states that,

• We will respect and uphold the fundamental right to practice one’s faith and the rights guaranteed to religious minorities under Articles 15, 16, 25, 26, 28, 29 and 30 of the Constitution.

• We will also respect and uphold the rights of linguistic minorities guaranteed under Articles 15, 16, 29 and 30 of the Constitution.

• Congress will ensure that, like every citizen, minorities have the freedom of choice of dress, food, language and personal laws.

• We will expand Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution to prohibit discrimination on the ground of ‘disability’, ‘impairment’ or ‘sexual orientation’.

• We will restore the autonomy of colleges and universities. Higher educational institutions will have academic freedom and will be encouraged to experiment, innovate and promote research. We will protect and preserve students’ freedom of speech and expression and the right to have elected student unions.

• Congress will guarantee artistic freedom. We will oppose censorship. Attempts by vigilante groups to censor or intimidate artists will be dealt with firmly and according to law.

• We will appoint an Adhikar Maitri in every Panchayats to serve as a paralegal to educate women and assist them in the enforcement of their legal rights.

Read the Full Document of the Congress Manifesto Here