Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge unveiled five 'guarantees' aimed at benefiting laborers ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing the audience in Bengaluru, Karnataka, Kharge introduced the 'Shramik Nyay' and 'Hissedari Nyay' initiatives. Under the 'Shramik Nyay', Congress pledges to enact a Right to Health law, ensuring universal healthcare coverage, including free medicines, treatment, diagnostics, rehabilitative and palliative care, and surgery for laborers.
Additionally, the party commits to implementing 'Shram ka Samman', guaranteeing a national minimum wage of Rs 400 per day for laborers, including those engaged in the MNREGA program.
Furthermore, Congress plans to introduce an urban employment guarantee act aimed at bolstering public infrastructure, enhancing cities' resilience to climate change, and filling gaps in social services.
Kharge emphasized the party's commitment to 'Samajik Suraksha', promising comprehensive social security for all unorganized workers, encompassing life and accident insurance.
Moreover, the Congress pledges to conduct a comprehensive review of the anti-worker labor codes enacted by the Modi government and make necessary amendments to reinforce labor rights.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi echoed these 'guarantees' on social media, highlighting their potential to eliminate risk and insecurity from workers' lives and ensure a secure future. He stressed that economically empowered and socially secure workers would drive production and accelerate economic activity, becoming the nation's strength.
Under the 'Hissedari Nyay', Congress promises to conduct a comprehensive social, economic, and caste census to assess the population's socio-economic status, their share in national wealth, and their representation in governance-related institutions.
Furthermore, the party pledges to pass a constitutional amendment to raise the 50% cap on reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). Kharge indicated the possibility of increasing the reservation cap to 60% or 65%, similar to Tamil Nadu's model.
