Much like the Shakespearean play Much Ado about Nothing, the Congress party’s manifesto seems to have incited excitement, intrigue, and disbelief with a dash of comedy. But unlike the play’s title, the Congress’s manifesto has “much ado about many things” for a billion Indians.

When the manifesto was launched on April 5 in Delhi, there was excitement over its fresh and bold ideas such as the right to apprenticeship, reversing the damage of the last decade, restoring status quo ante with China, legal guarantee on MSPs for farmers, right to healthcare, doubling India’s share of mining, new law for gig workers and so on. These were genuine policy proposals formulated after extensive consultations with the public, stakeholders and domestic and international domain experts.

On April 6 in Hyderabad, Rahul Gandhi dwelled further on the social justice pillar of the manifesto to outline the Congress’s concern over growing inequities in Indian society along caste lines. He asked why is it that when OBCs, Dalits and tribals constitute roughly 70 per cent of the population, their share in the upper echelons of society, such as senior officers in public sector banks, government bureaucracy and corporate India, is less than 10 per cent. He highlighted the manifesto’s promise that a new Congress government in June will initiate a socio-economic caste census to understand the extent of social and economic disparity. He termed it as the “X ray”........

© Indian Express