By TCN News,
New Delhi: Welfare Party of India announced the list of 34 constituencies from where it will launch its maiden contest for the parliament election 2014 in a press conference on March 20. The list was released by the national president Mujtaba Farooq at the New Delhi Press Club.
The list includes five from Kerala, one from Karnataka, five from Andhra Pradesh, ten from Maharashtra, three from Uttar Pradesh, and ten from West Bengal. The Party is making negotiations with various national and regional political parties like JD (U), CPI (ML), RMP of Kerala, INL, AUDF etc.
The election manifesto was jointly released by national leaders of the Party, including President Mujtaba Farooq, vice presidents Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan and Moulana Abdul Wahab Khilji, general secretaries Dr. S.Q.R. Ilyas and P.C. Hamza, Secretary Dr. Tasleem Rehmani and Uttar Pradesh state vice-president Advocate Satyendar Singh.
Addressing the media persons, Dr. S.Q.R. Ilyas, national general secretary said the election is very crucial for the country as the economic policy followed by the governments at the centre, be it the UPA or the NDA, and has led the country to the worst financial crisis since independence. Income disparity between the rich and poor gets widened. Corporates and multinationals get more sops whereas pockets of poor are robbed by reducing subsidy rates.
In foreign relations the country has lost its neutrality and non-alignment policy by surrendering to US imperialism. Both the Congress and the BJP follow pro US and pro racist Israel policies.
The country is also witnessing overt and covert operations for communal polarisations and the role of so called secular parties by playing communal cards was seen in Muzaffarnagar. Right-wing Hindutva terrorism, tearing off the nation’s secular fabric of the country, is neither taken seriously nor probed in right sense. Instead of taking head on the communal fascism, we find the Congress party at the centre dillydallying and playing soft cards.
The leaders alleged that there remains very little difference between the right-wing BJP and the Congress in their stands relating to economic and other domestic issues, both are pro-rich and pro-corporate. In the case of corruptions and scams, both parties are identically tarnished. People are fed up with the mainstream parties and seek for alternate options. The Third front secular option initiated by the CPM, though ideologically good, seems to be a non-starter. On questions regarding AAP, Welfare Party leaders made it clear that the country faced many serious issues other than corruption, but the AAP has yet to spell their stand clearly on such issues and it is premature to make any opinion about that party.
Disillusionment with the mainstream parties and the failure in providing an inclusive democracy, creative secularism and humane development set the right situation to form Welfare Party three years back. The Party is committed for the establishment of a value-based WELFARE STATE on the principles of Justice, Freedom and Equality.
The Party finds that the minorities, tribes, dalits, women etc are far behind in political empowerment and the Party is committed for their political empowerment and social emancipation. Welfare Party leaders demanded that no citizen of the country should be viewed with suspicion and put to indescribable torment and fear for his religion, ethnicity, caste etc.
The manifesto highlighted the need for land reforms, setting up of land bank, super tax on super rich, free compulsory and quality common education till 12th class, education allotment up to 8 % of GDP, special focus for unorganised sector, for land acquisition make one member of the family a shareholder of the upcoming project, 6 % of the GDP allotment for health sector, comprehensive solution to farmers suicide, no strategic partnership with racist Israel, setting up Asian Union in the pattern of European Union, implement Rangnath Misra report and Sachar committee recommendations, introduce proportional representation electoral system, set up Equal Opportunity Commission, total prohibition in the country, no direct funding of political parties by the corporates etc.