Rahul releases Cong's Karnataka manifesto, promises 1 cr jobs

Congress president Rahul Gandhi released the party's manifesto for the May 12 Karnataka Assembly polls at the T  M  A  Pai Auditorium in Mangaluru on Friday.

For the first time, the Congress released its manifesto outside the party headquarters - Bengaluru.

After releasing the manifesto, Rahul handed over the first copy to former Union minister B Janardhana Poojary, though Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, KPCC  president Dr G Parameshwara and state in-charge K C Venugopal were right next to him.

Separate manifestos have been prepared for the state (The Karnataka Manifesto 2018-2023) and four regions - Mysuru, Bengaluru, Belagavi and Kalburgi.

The 105-page state manifesto promises creation of one crore jobs and has 16 sections based on progress made and the road ahead in sectors such as agriculture, education, sports and culture, energy, governance, health and nutrition, industrial development, IT and BT, infrastructure, irrigation, law and justice, rural development, skill and employment, social justice, tourism, urban development, transportation and environment sustainability, and women empowerment and child development.

The manifesto also has a separate category - “Karnataka - The state of many firsts” - in which 31 issues have been listed as “first in Karnataka”.

Prior to its release, Manifesto Committee chairman M Veerappa Moily said that the manifesto reflects the aspirations of the people of Karnataka.

Referring to the BJP slogan that “Congress would be rooted out in the state,” Moily said that poll bugle of the Congress would shake Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seat.

Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Rajya Sabha MP B K  Hariprasad, Publicity Committee chief D  K Shivakumar, AICC  secretary P C Vishnunadan and DCC president Harish Kumar were also present.