NC Manifesto: A Catalogue of Promises

The Political Mirror

Sunil Sethi

When Omar Abdullah released the National Conference manifesto before the 2024 Assembly elections, he presented it not merely as another election document but as a roadmap for governance. More significantly, he asserted that his party was making promises it could deliver. Those words must now become the standard against which his Government is judged.

Nearly two years into the National Conference-led Government, the people of Jammu & Kashmir have every right to take that manifesto out again, read its promises one by one and ask a very simple question: What happened to them? An election manifesto is not a piece of paper meant to survive only until votes are counted. It is a solemn political commitment made to the electorate. And when those commitments remain substantially distant from the expectations created during elections, the issue is no longer merely one of governance. It becomes an issue of political credibility.

Nothing demonstrates the gulf between promise and performance more clearly than employment. NC promised one lakh jobs. It promised a J&K Youth Employment Generation Act within three months. It promised that vacancies in government departments would be filled within 180 days. These were extraordinarily specific promises. Though 180 days have passed, yet thousands of educated young men and women continue waiting for employment opportunities. The Government talks about vacancies being identified, posts being referred, recruitment being processed and selections being initiated. But NC did not ask the youth to vote for "process". It asked them to vote for jobs. A vacancy is not employment. A post referred to a recruitment agency is not employment. An advertisement is not employment. Only an appointment order gives employment to an unemployed youth. The Government should therefore publish an Employment White Paper and tell the people precisely how many actual appointments have been made against the one lakh jobs promised in its manifesto.

Then comes electricity. NC prominently promised 200 units of free electricity. Today, instead of the universal impression of relief created during the election campaign becoming reality for ordinary households, consumers are confronting increased electricity tariffs. The Government may argue that free electricity and tariff determination are separate issues. It may point towards subsidies and financial compulsions. But that cannot erase the political contradiction. Before elections, the language was free electricity. After elections, the reality for many consumers is higher tariffs. And nowhere is this contradiction more painful than Kashmir, where electricity during the severe winter is not a luxury. It means heating rooms. It means hot water. It means protecting children and elderly people against sub-zero temperatures. A Government that promised electricity relief should be reducing this winter burden, not defending an increase in tariffs.

The manifesto also spoke of substantial financial assistance to women belonging to economically weaker households. NC promised ?5,000 per month to female heads of EWS households. This was not an insignificant commitment. For a struggling household, ?5,000 every month could make a meaningful difference in buying food, medicines and meeting children's educational expenses. The Government should tell the people clearly: How many women are today receiving the full benefit promised in the manifesto? How much has actually been disbursed? And if the original commitment has been modified, restricted or replaced, why was the much larger promise made during the election?

NC also went to the electorate with the promise of free LPG cylinders for economically weaker families. Again, this was a measurable household benefit. People do not need another announcement about it. They need the cylinders promised to them. A manifesto cannot offer one level of welfare before elections and a diluted version afterwards and still claim complete fulfilment. Promises must be judged by the words in which they were made, not by the explanations subsequently invented for them.

NC's manifesto also promised free travel for women in public transport. That commitment was presented as an important measure of women's empowerment and economic relief. The Government must place before the public a transparent account of how far the original promise has actually been implemented across Jammu & Kashmir. A woman in a remote area of Rajouri, Poonch, Doda, Kupwara or Kishtwar is as much entitled to the benefit of an election promise as somebody living in the centre of Srinagar or Jammu. Announcements confined by geography, availability or implementation capacity cannot automatically be equated with universal delivery.

The manifesto contained an extensive welfare agenda. NC spoke about increasing ration entitlement to 10 kilograms per person per month, enhancing pensions, expanding educational opportunities, strengthening healthcare and creating institutions and economic opportunities. Each promise created an expectation. Each expectation created political support. And every such promise must therefore be subjected to public scrutiny. The question is not whether the Government has started some schemes. Every Government starts schemes. The correct test is simple: Has NC delivered what NC specifically promised? That is the only fair benchmark.

NC's promises were not confined to bread and butter issues. It promised to work towards repealing the Public Safety Act and spoke about amnesty or release for political prisoners subject to stated conditions. These promises were repeatedly used to distinguish NC politically and to appeal to a particular constituency in Kashmir. Today, the party cannot simply forget those commitments because it occupies the Government benches. If constitutional or administrative limitations prevent implementation, NC owes the people an explanation as to why those limitations were not candidly acknowledged when the promises were made.

NC placed restoration of Articles 370 and 35A and restoration of statehood at the centre of its political campaign. It knew perfectly well before the election which matters were within the competence of the elected Union Territory Government and which depended upon Parliament and the Union Government. It nevertheless chose to campaign upon them. The BJP's position on Article 370 has always been clear and unequivocal. There was no deception before the electorate about what BJP intended. NC must therefore answer for its own promises. It cannot claim political credit for making promises on matters outside its control and then invoke lack of control as the explanation for non delivery. Power cannot be claimed while responsibility is outsourced.

Whenever uncomfortable questions are raised, the NC Government frequently points towards the limitations of the present Union Territory structure. There are undoubtedly genuine institutional limitations in the present arrangement. But that explanation has limits of its own. Were those limitations unknown in August and September 2024? Did NC not know J&K was a Union Territory when its manifesto was written? Did it not know the division of powers between the elected Government, Lieutenant Governor and Union Government? Of course it did. Yet it consciously made these promises. You cannot promise with full knowledge of your limitations and then use those same limitations as an excuse for non performance.

BJP should demand that the Government table a formal Manifesto Implementation Report before the Legislative Assembly. Every commitment in the 2024 NC manifesto should be placed before the public with a clear account of what was promised, what has been delivered and what remains pending. The people deserve to know how many of the one lakh jobs have actually been delivered, what happened to the 180 day vacancy deadline, how many households receive the electricity benefit originally promised, how many eligible women receive the promised financial assistance, how many families receive the promised LPG benefit, what is the status of enhanced ration, what happened to free public transport for women, what happened to the Youth Employment Generation Act and what progress has been achieved on the remaining social, economic and political guarantees.

The Government should have nothing to fear from such transparency if it genuinely believes it has fulfilled its commitments. The larger issue is about the sanctity of democratic promises. Political parties cannot be allowed to turn manifestos into instruments for collecting votes. A manifesto must be regarded as a political contract between those seeking power and those giving them power. NC asked the youth to believe in one lakh jobs. It asked families to believe in electricity relief. It asked economically weaker women to believe in financial assistance. It asked poorer households to believe in LPG and ration relief. It asked the people of Kashmir to believe its political commitments. Those promises helped create expectations and obtain votes. Now comes accountability.

The BharatiyaJanata Party should take NC's own manifesto to every district of Jammu & Kashmir. No exaggeration is necessary. No rhetoric is necessary. Simply read their promises back to them. Ask NC ministers at every public platform: You promised it. Where is it? Ask about the one lakh jobs. Ask about the 180 day deadline. Ask about 200 units of electricity. Ask about assistance to women. Ask about LPG cylinders. Ask about ration. Ask about employment legislation. Ask about every promise carrying a deadline and every promise capable of implementation by the elected Government.

The most powerful charge against this Government need not be written by the BJP. It was written by the National Conference itself in its 2024 election manifesto. NC called that manifesto its roadmap for governance. Today, the people should use the same document as its report card. And if promises made to secure a mandate remain unfulfilled, the people of Jammu & Kashmir are entitled to reach their own conclusion: A promise made for obtaining power but forgotten after obtaining power is not governance. It is a betrayal of public trust.

(The author is Senior Advocate & Chief Spokesperson , BJP J&K)