The manifesto finalized by the party´s Election Manifesto Preparations Committee headed by Vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel on Friday expresses commitment to hold elections to the local bodies that remain without people´s representatives for the last 16 years to consolidate the democratic tradition at the grassroots level. [break]
The manifesto to be unveiled soon, proposes to draft a new statute within one year of the CA elections and devote the remaining four years to take the country in the path of prosperity and development. These include ensuring 8 to 10 percent economic growth rate and increasing the national per capita income to Rs 100,000 (approximately US $ 1,000 from existing US $ 721) within next five years.
The NC has expressed commitment to a secular state, constitutional supremacy, independent judiciary, independent constitutional bodies, guarantee of civil liberties, right to property, autonomous local government and sovereignty vested in the people, among other things. On key contentious issues of the new statute such as federalism, electoral system and system of governance, the NC has maintained more or less the same positions as in the previous CA.
While NC has decided to uphold mixed electoral system and parliament-elected executive prime minister and ceremonial presidential system, the party has proposed a seven-state federal model while keeping the option of 13 state-model open for discussions. NC has announced to give final shape to its federal model after intensive dialogue with Madhesi, indigenous nationalities, dalits, minority groups such as Muslims, Tharus and other marginalized communities.
Nevertheless, the party in its draft manifesto has proposed naming federal states in such a way as to ensure multiple identities and a strong local government. While the NC has proposed giving authority to the elected provincial assembly concerned to choose the names of the states, it has also maintained that it is paying due heed to both economic viability and identity while carving out the federal states.
The NC has proposed taking the identities of the concerned ethnic communities, their languages, cultures, geography and the history of the regions as bases for determining the identity of the federal states. Likewise, the party has proposed taking economic interdependence and economic self-reliance, status of infrastructure development and its potential, availability of natural means and resources and administrative accessibility as the main bases for determining economic viability.
The draft manifesto not only gives a historical context of constitution-making efforts through elected Constituent Assembly but also the major reasons that led to the dissolution of the erstwhile CA in May, 2012. The NC has enlisted main ideological difference that they had with the UCPN (Maoist) on several issues such as pluralism, independent judiciary, freedom to open political parties, provision of opposition party in the parliament and preferential political rights of certain groups.
The NC has separately unveiled various sectoral programs for health, education, infrastructure development, irrigation and watershed conservation, tourism, road transport, good governance and corruption control among other things. Likewise, the NC has unveiled special programs for the development of Tarai-Madhes, Karnali, eastern hill region, far-western region, and Madhesi and indigenous nationalities.
Major highlights of the party´s populist programs include reducing the number of the population dependent on agriculture from existing 68 percent to 49 percent and increasing industrial production that would contribute 12 percent of the total GDP in the next five years. Development of infrastructure related to agriculture, establishment of fertilizer industry through on public-private partnership, promotion of commercial farming as well as ´One Village, One Product´ concept are among the NC´s plan to develop the agriculture sector.
The NC has announced an ambitious plan to declare Nepal a load-shedding free country within the next three years. While 5,000 megawatts of electricity will be added to the national grid within the next five years, the NC has also announced to generate 100 MW through solar power and another 100 MW through wind power.
NC in its draft manifesto has set a target to bring 5 million tourists annually in the next 10 years. This would be done, according to the party, through the development of necessary infrastructure and additional tourist destinations in various parts of the country including the construction of Buddhist Circuit in Lumbini. While pledging to complete construction of postal highway, Mid Hills Highway and Kathmandu-Nijgadh Fast Track within the next five years, the NC has also stated that a four-lane Kathmandu-Pokhara fast track road and five North-South Highways linking both India and China will be developed in five years and three more North-South Highways in the next ten years.
Likewise, the party has announced to develop one alternative international airport in five years and upgrade existing airports in Pokhara, Janakpur, Bhairahawa and Dhangadhi to enable them to make direct flights to various South Asian countries. Also, NC has pledged to complete one-third of the East-West Railway construction work in the next five years while laying ground work for the construction of the Kathmandu-Kathmandu railway during the same period.
Among other things, the party has pledged health insurance and free-of-cost higher secondary education to all, a state-of-the-art model hospital for the elderly people and upgrading of district hospitals.
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