With the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 just around the corner, parties have released their manifestos to attract good numbers in their vote banks. A particular point in the manifesto of Trinamool Congress (TMC), released on Wednesday, has made headlines.
What is most attractive about the manifesto?
The INDIA-alliance partner, TMC has promised to abolish the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and discontinue the National Register for Citizens (NRC) if the opposition INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre.
The manifesto said, “The botched-up Citizenship (Amendment) Act will be abolished and the National Register of Citizens will be discontinued. The Uniform Civil Code will not be implemented across India.”
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee while attending Eid celebrations on Red Road in Kolkata, said, “No NRC, no CAA and no UCC. Every citizen has his rights. Ask your family members, who work outside the state to come and cast their votes, else they may strike off their names. If CAA is the head of a fish, NRC is its tail. The UCC forms the remaining portion of the fish.”
To this, Modi, while addressing a rally at Raiganj in north Bengal on Tuesday, said, “The TMC doesn’t want to give citizenship to the victims of partition. It opposes the CAA, which gives citizenship. They are spreading lies and rumours. They have, however, given permission to Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators to alter the demography and destroy the law and order in West Bengal. In a bid to increase their vote bank, they have put the state’s future at stake.”
TMC’s manifesto
The manifesto was released at the party headquarters in Kolkata. It comprises 10 points called Didir Shopoth (Didi’s promises) and was released in six languages: English, Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Nepali, and Ol Chiki script.
It promises to deliver a 5 kg ration to the doorstep, ten free cooking cylinders for BPL families, a free ration at the door-step, a hike in old-age pension, capping of fuel prices and a price stabilization fund to tackle price fluctuations, student credit cards of up to Rs 10 lakh will be provided for higher education. are among some on the list.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien said, “These are the promises which we will fulfil as part of the INDIA bloc when it forms the next government.”
