Promises to conduct a caste census, enact a legal guarantee to give minimum support prices to farmers, to scrap the Agnipath scheme and to introduce regular recruitment to the armed forces are among the highlights of the Samajwadi Party’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, which it unveiled on April 10
Party president Akhilesh Yadav added deadlines to the promises while releasing the manifesto. If voted to power, the party will conduct a caste-based census by 2025, and will ensure justice and participation for all by 2029, he said. The SP also called for the Old Pension Scheme to be made available to all government employees, including paramilitary personnel.
Editorial | The big fight: On battleground Uttar Pradesh
The SP, an Uttar Pradesh-centric party and a key constituent of the Opposition’s Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), is contesting 63 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in India’s largest State.
For OBCs, Dalits, minorities
The 20-page manifesto, titled ‘Janta Ka Maang Patra – Humara Adhikar’ was released at the SP State office in Lucknow. It advocates for a ‘PDA’ government, championing the Pichde (backward classes), Dalit, and Alpasankhyak (minorities) communities.
“As soon as the INDIA bloc government is formed at the Centre, a caste-based census will be initiated, and all the vacant posts for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and other backward classes (OBCs) will be filled by 2025,” Mr. Yadav told reporters after the manifesto’s release.
“Our main focus in this vision document is the right to protect democracy, the Constitution, the right to freedom of institutions including media, and the right to social justice. Social justice holds the key for the development of the country as inequality is rampant, with resources concentrated in a few hands,” the SP president in his opening remarks.
‘Caste census essential’
“Only after a caste census, there will be development of everyone, brotherhood will come, discrimination will end and democracy will become strong,” Mr. Yadav said, calling the census a tool for the successful upliftment of oppressed social groups.
“Without knowing the actual count of various caste groups, their development is incomplete. For designing policies, it is necessary to know the population of social groups. [The BJP’s slogan of] Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas is not possible without a caste census,” the SP chief reiterated. The manifesto also calls for policies to ensure the participation of all social and caste groups in the private sector.
To scrap Agnipath
The manifesto highlighted the shortcomings of the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, vowing to scrap it as soon as the INDIA bloc comes to power, and to replace it with regular military recruitment. Apart from guaranteed MSPs, the SP also promised to waive agricultural loans, provide free irrigation facilities, form a Farmers’ Commission, and offer a monthly pension of ₹5,000 to all landless, small, and marginal farmers.
The SP manifesto promised to ensure 33% reservation for women in Parliament and the State Legislative Assemblies within two years of coming to power, without waiting for delimitation.
