New Delhi: Asserting that the country is demanding a change, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said the 'guarantees' touted by the present government would meet the same fate as the 'India Shining' slogan of 2004.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), party leaders K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh said the CWC has authorised Kharge to give final approval to the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls and decide a date for its release.
The CWC has prepared a roadmap for taking the party's guarantees to grassroots, Venugopal said after the over three-hour long meeting.
Ramesh said the Congress will release not just a ‘ghoshna patra’ (manifesto) but ‘nyay patra’ so that people see a bright future.
Earlier addressing the meeting of the CWC, the party's top decision-making body, Kharge urged all party leaders and workers to take every issue raised in the party manifesto to every village and town and to every household across the country.
"The country is fervently demanding a change. The guarantees currently being touted by the present government would have the same fate as that of the 'India Shining' slogan of 2004," he said in his address at the CWC meet.
The BJP government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee had given the 'India Shining' slogan during the 2004 Lok Sabha election. The party had lost the poll.
Kharge also lauded the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, saying through it the Congress was able to draw the country's attention to the real issue of people.
Kharge and former Party Chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi attended the meeting. Other senior leaders, including Ambika Soni, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, P Chidambaram, Digvijaya Singh, Ajay Maken and Kumari Selja, were also present at the crucial meeting, where Chidambaram read out the key elements of the party manifesto.
Chidambaram chairs the manifesto committee of the party, which has already presented a copy of the draft document to the CWC for its nod.
The the draft manifesto carries five 'guarantees' for justice -- 'Bhagidari Nyay', 'Kisan Nyay', 'Nari Nyay', 'Shramik Nyay' and 'Yuva Nyay' -- giving 25 guarantees, five for each nyay, which have been announced by the Congress President and Rahul Gandhi. (with Agency inputs)
