The Congress on Sunday promised free education and housing to Dalit families as part of a manifesto to woo weaker castes who might play a decisive role in next year’s assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
The party released an eightpoint list as part of its ‘Dalit manifesto’ that promises free education “from KG to PG” and free housing equipped with toilets, safe drinking water and electricity.

“If the Congress comes to power, the government will make direct payments of all education expenses for a Dalit student. The government will also pay additional `1,000 aid to students going to other cities for higher education, including courses such as BA, MA, BTech, LLB and MBBS,” the party’s Rajya Sabha member, PL Punia, said.
The party also flagged off a number of Dalit roadshows that will crisscross the state to campaign in far-flung villages about the Congress’s past contributions to the Dalit community.
The roadshow involves 100 vehicles. “Each car will visit and stay in a village each day,” Raju said.
This is part of the Congress’s 50-day Shiksha, Suraksha, Swabhiman campaign targeting to reach out to Dalits in about 5,000 villages across 85 reserved constituencies.
Strategist Prashant Kishor who was hired by the Congress for the assembly polls is reportedly not part of this campaign. He had planned the “27 Saal UP Behal” and “Kisan Yatra” for the party before.
Dalits comprise more than a fifth of India’s most populous state and experts say they hold the key to the state polls.

Source : Hindustan Times

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