Congress President Sonia Gandhi , party Vice President Rahul Gandhi alongwith Prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Defence minister AK Antony addressed a function to release the election manifesto of the Congress party for the 2014 general pools at the Congress headquarters on Akbar Road.

1. Camp: New Delhi
Date: 26th
March, 2014
Time: 3 pm
Sonia Gandhi takes a dig at BJP: We need an ideology that unites; not divides
Congress President Sonia Gandhi , party Vice President Rahul Gandhi alongwith Prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and
Defence minister AK Antony addressed a function to release the election manifesto of the Congress party for the 2014 general
pools at the Congress headquarters on Akbar Road.
Sonia Gandhi, who is also the UPA Chairperson, praised the Manmohan Singh-led Central government for passing several
historic legislations in its past ten years of governance. About the new methodology adopted by the Congress to prepare the
present manifesto, the Congress President said, “This time, we have adopted a new method to frame our manifesto. Rahul
Gandhi had held interactive sessions with people of all walks of life across the country to seek their opinion on our manifesto.
We have tried our level best to include maximum suggestions we received from the people”.
“Our present manifesto has touched upon many new areas of development. We have promised Right to Healthcare for all in our
manifesto. We also intend to give a right to house for all homeless poor” added Sonia Gandhi.
“I believe, this election will not be about just programmes, policies or economy. This election for the Congress is important to
keep constitutional fabric of the country intact. It is the time to fight to protect our rich tradition of unity in diversity. We will
fight for ‘Ekta’ not for ‘Ek roopta’. We will have fight to protect an ideology that unites us, which does not make people fight
against each other” said the UPA Chairperson..
“We will fight for such an India, that treats all equally whatever the caste, religion or region may be. We need to build such a
country which is secular and everyone feels that they are Indians. We want to build such an India which does not belong to just
a handful of people but to the entire citizens. We want an India where every Indian has equal rights. In this election we fight for
principles which unite people and strengthen democracy” said Sonia Gandhi in an indirect at BJP.
“For some political parties, election manifesto is a vote grabbing tool, but it is not the case for the Congress party. For Congress,
it is a sacred document. Political principles and promises in manifesto are not just for showing others, but to live by. This has
been our tradition and mission and we will never deviate from this ideology at any cost” assured the Congress President while
concluding ger brief address..

2. Sonia Gandhi also defended her party's decision to field Ashok Chavan in the Lok Sabha polls despite corruption charges against
him. "The decision of giving Ashok Chavan ticket was taken by the CEC. As far as we know, Chavan is not barred from contesting
the election by any law," said Sonia Gandhi while replying a question.
Full text of the speech by Congress President Sonia Gandhi at Congress 2014 election manifesto function
Today, we are releasing the Congress manifesto for the 2014 general elections. I welcome all of you on this occasion.
This time, we have adopted a new method to frame our manifesto. Rahul Gandhi had held interactive sessions with people of all
walks of life across the country to seek their opinion on our manifesto. We have tried our level best to include maximum
suggestions we received from the people but it is quite natural that we cannot include all those; but, all such suggestions will
figure in a separate document to be released by us shortly.
Our government has tried its level best to meet the aspirations of the people in our country. You have witnessed yourself that,
the past ten years of our government under the leadership of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, has been a period that
achieved commendable economic growth and ensured social empowerment. We did put in our efforts to maintain our growth
and to ensure welfare and upliftment of the people, especially the poor and weaker sections. We also provided maximum
support and financial assistance to Panchayats and local bodies. We also could pass various historic legislations benefitting the
people. We had spelt our plans in our earlier manifesto.
Our present manifesto has touched upon many new areas of development. We have promised Right to Healthcare for all in our
manifesto. We also intend to give a right to house for all homeless poor. We want to increase production so that the economy
could be boosted further and the aspirations of our youth could be fulfilled. We are striving to be equal, not just look equal. We
also will enhance our measures to provide better social security and welfare initiatives. We also envisage a pension scheme for
old-aged and disabled persons. It also has various programmes for the welfare of farmers and empowerment of the
downtrodden.
I believe, this election will not be about just programmes, policies or economy. This election for the Congress is important to
keep constitutional fabric of the country intact. It is the time to fight to protect our rich tradition of unity in diversity. We will
fight for ‘Ekta’ not for ‘Ek roopta’. We will have fight to protect an ideology that unites us, which does not make people fight
against each other.
We will fight for such an India, that treats all equally whatever the caste, religion or region may be. We need to build such a
country which is secular and everyone feels that they are Indians. We want to build such an India which does not belong to just
a handful of people but to the entire citizens. We want an India where every Indian has equal rights. In this election we fight for
principles which unite people and strengthen democracy.

3. For some political parties, election manifesto is a vote grabbing tool, but it is not the case for the Congress party. For Congress, it
is a sacred document. Political principles and promises in manifesto are not just for showing others, but to live by. This has been
our tradition and mission and we will never deviate from this ideology at any cost.
Thank you.