Congress 'copies' saffron model of wooing voters with 'Gaushalas' for unproductive cows

GUWAHATI: With the Congress determined to topple the saffron BJP in Assam, the grand old party has released a manifesto that seemingly caters to all the sections of the largely agrarian Assamese society.

While releasing its manifesto at its Guwahati headquarter today, the Congress today announced that a cow shelter shall be set up in every district if it is voted to power after this latest cycle of polls.

The BJP party -- which is power in both the Centre and in Assam -- is infamous for its prioritization of cow preservation policies. In the 1984 general manifesto, the BJP promised that cow slaughter will be banned; in the next general elections in 1989 and 1991, the party again promised that it would work for the welfare of cows. In 1998 and 1999, the party promised policies for the cow, including a total ban on the slaughter of cows and cow-progeny and for special efforts "dairying, particularly in respect of cow and its progeny." In 2004, it promised a national cattle development board.

Similar promises were made in 2009 and 2014 as well.

Asked if the Congress party too now believes in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology that cows need to be "protected", manifesto committee chairman Gaurav Gogoi said, "This manifesto has been formulated based on our conversations from Assamese people from all walks of life and many of them rear cows. Some people have said that they want their cows who are unable to yield milk to be taken away and looked after. As I have said earlier, this is a people's manifesto. We have listened to the people of the state and we got the solutions from the people themselves."

“In this manifesto, we have mentioned the emotions and dreams of the Assamese people. We have also taken into account the dreams and aspirations of the youth,” Gogoi said, adding that the manifesto of the party is “the voice of the people.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the compilation of the manifesto "is a very detailed exercise" and has been given shape after meeting thousands of lay men and woman across Assam.

"It contains the aspirations of the people of Assam and it has been formed after many meetings and consultations. The BJP and RSS are attacking Assam's way of thinking and way of being, but the manifesto provides the Congress' guarantee that the party will defend the state's traditions, its language, its history and its culture," he added.