The Tamil Nadu and Puducherry units of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) have released its ‘People’s Manifesto’ listing suggestions to the next government that would be formed at the Centre after the coming Parliamentary elections.
Among the suggestions in the manifesto was the one seeking amendments to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to provide employment to the rural poor for all the 365 days in a year, and a similar Act for the urban poor.
Syed Ahmed Hussain, president of the Vellore unit of JIH, told Express that the manifesto was a part of a larger struggle towards establishing a just, peaceful, god-fearing and prosperous nation with a focus on value-based politics, economic progress based on equity and justice, society based on equality and good governance with utmost care towards human rights. To realise the idea of a pluralistic, progressive, inclusive India, the parties in the poll fray have been requested to consider the 15-point programmes proposed by the JIH seeking legislative and policy measures, he said. The manifesto was being circulated to the contesting candidates, their party leaders, social activists, youth groups and the policy- makers.
He said the main focus would be to encourage the new government to make amendment in part-III of the Constitution to assure ‘Right to Livelihood’ for all citizens of India comprising security of food, housing, clothing, education and health care.
The manifesto has demanded that the budgetary allocation for education and health sector should be increased to 8 and 5 per cent of GDP, respectively. A comprehensive policy to rejuvenate the agrarian sector must be formulated, it stated.
‘secular, communal forces to fight’
Vellore: The state president of the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) J S Ribayi has said that the elections would witness a keen contest between secular and communal forces. Ribayi said this while he was addressing reporters in Ambur on Tuesday. To a question on how the third front would perform, he said, there was no third front in this elections.