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Guwahati, Mar 1: The disability rights groups in India have launched the ‘Manifesto For and By Citizens with Disabilities’, urging political parties to prioritise and address the issues of the disabled community in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Emphasising the need for equal treatment, the manifesto represents the culmination of extensive national and regional consultations, encapsulating the pressing concerns and demands of the disabled community across India.
It was launched on February 29 by disability rights groups led by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) in collaboration with the National Disability Network (NDN).
“As the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 draw near, citizens with disabilities, which form 7% of the population of India and there are more than 1 crore registered voters, as per the Election Commission, it is essential that the voices of persons with disabilities are heard in the discussions around the 2024 general elections. This is not only because they represent sizable votes but, more importantly, because they are a large consumer of goods and services and thus contributors to socio-economic development and GDP,” said Arman Ali, executive director of NCPEDP.
The manifesto outlines 10 critical demands, including budgetary allocation, health insurance, accessibility, social security, socio-political inclusion, economic participation, climate change, gender equality, sports, and education. It also calls for mainstreaming people with disabilities in the 5-year action plans of political parties for the upcoming elections.
The key demands of the manifesto include allocating 5% of the total budget for persons with disabilities, promoting affordable and accessible health insurance, ensuring accessibility in public and private spaces, increasing the monthly pension for disabled people, amending Article 15 to include the word disability, enhancing economic participation, addressing climate change, promoting gender equality, establishing state-of-the-art sports infrastructure for para-athletes, and implementing a data-driven strategy for enhanced enrollment and completion of mainstream education for disabled children.
The manifesto serves as a clarion call to political parties to prioritise the rights and needs of persons with disabilities in their policy agendas and demands a more inclusive and equitable society where every citizen can actively participate and contribute to nation-building.
