TMC releases manifesto; promises to abolish CAA and discontinue NRC

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday released its manifesto ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in which the INDIA-alliance partner has promised to abolish the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and discontinue the National Register for Citizens (NRC).
“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,” the manifesto said.
The manifesto comprises 10 points called Didir Shopoth (Didi’s promises) including 100 days of guaranteed work and increased minimum wage, housing for poor, 10 free LPG cylinders for BPL families, free ration at door-step, hike in old-age pension, capping of fuel prices and price stabilization fund to tackle price fluctuations, student credit card to purse higher education and financial assistance to girls and women among others.
“Today’s manifesto is what we are committed to do when TMC, as part of the INDIA alliance, will form the Union government,” said Derek O’ Brien, TMC Parliamentary leader in the Rajya Sabha.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has attacked the BJP-led centre over CAA, NRC and UCC. Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election too, the CAA and NRC had become a major flash point between the two parties.
“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,” Banerjee said last week while attending Eid celebrations on Red Road in Kolkata.
BJP leaders, however, have claimied that lies and rumours were being spread in connection with the CAA and NRC.
“The TMC doesn’t want to give citizenship to the victims of partition. It is opposing 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 on stake,” Modi said while addressing a rally at Raiganj in north Bengal on Tuesday.
The TMC’s manifesto was released in six languages – English, Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Nepali and Ol Chiki script.