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New Delhi, Feb. 2 (IANS): The Congress on Sunday released its manifesto for Delhi polls, promising to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act if elected to power.
In the last column of its manifesto, the party said that it will pass the resolution in the first session of the Delhi Assembly after the elections and will ask the Centre to withdraw the Act.
The manifesto stated: "The CAA brought by the BJP is against the basic spirit of our constitution. By February 21, 2020, INC government will go to the Apex court and challenge the constitutional validity of the CAA under article 131."
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) facilitates citizenship to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian minorities, who had fled persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 2014. After the passage of the Act in Parliament, violence erupted in various parts of the country in which scores of people were killed. A major anti-CAA protest is also going on at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area.
The Congress has been vocal against the CAA ever since it was passed by Parliament. However, the BJP-led Central government has claimed that the CAA was conceptualised by the Manmohan Singh government, and has been brought only on humanitarian ground fulfilling Mahatma Gandhi's wish.
The manifesto consisted of highlights as well as detailed action plans and strategies for combating environment-related issues in Delhi.
The Congress in its environment manifesto said that it will allocate 25 per cent of Delhi's budget every year to fight pollution and protect the environment. "Both immediate mid and long-term solutions would be implemented," said the manifesto.
The environment manifesto entailed a 7-step comprehensive strategy-mobility transition and pollution-free transport infrastructure, clean fuel transition and emission management, dust management and zero waste Delhi, waste restoration, enhancing Delhi's ecology, renewable energy and clean electricity and enforcement, implementation and participation.
In the manifesto the Congress attacked the ruling AAP and BJP. "In ten years of the UPA government, Metro fares were revised only twice. Unfortunately AAP and BJP together doubled the fare between 2017 and 2018," said the Congress.
The Congress claimed it has a solid credible record of delivery. "During the INC'S tenure the Central and state government together ensured that all Delhi Metro work was completed ahead of time," it said, adding "we would ensure that enforcement of the detailed action plan to fight pollution and protect environment happens strictly and in a time-bound manner."
Congress has also promised in its manifesto that it will bring 30 per cent of Delhi's area under green cover. It also said that school students aged 12 to 16 will be encouraged to volunteer as Delhi's 'Environment Ambassadors' and will be felicitated by the Chief Minister and Congress government.
Twenty five per cent of AAP candidates and 20 per cent of BJP contestants in the fray for the February 8 Delhi assembly polls have declared serious criminal cases against them in their affidavits, according to the Association of Democratic Reforms.
Fifteen per cent of Congress candidates also have declared serious criminal cases against them, the ADR said.
In the Delhi assembly polls, 672 candidates are in the fray, one less than in 2015.
The top three richest candidates are from the AAP. They are Dharampal Lakra from Mundka (INE 292 crore), Parmila Tokas from R K Puram (INR 80 crore) and Ram Singh Netaji from Badarpur (INR 80 crore).
"Out of 672 candidates analysed, 133 (20 per cent) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. In the 2015 Delhi assembly elections, out of 673 candidates analysed, 114 (17 per cent) had declared criminal cases against themselves," the ADR said.
It said 32 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women. Out of 32 candidates, one candidate has declared cases related to rape. Four contestants have declared cases related to attempt to murder.
Eight have declared cases related to hate speech, the ADR said