Right to shelter law planned in Congress-ruled States

The Congress will push for the right to shelter for the poor on the lines of the right to information and employment legislation, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday.

Shortly after his first Delhi poll campaign roadshow, he said the party would bounce back because it stood and worked for the poor.

Congress sources said drafting of the party’s legislation for the right to shelter was at an advanced stage and it would be unveiled in the coming days.

Since it is no longer in power at the Centre, the party would push for legislation in Congress-ruled States, a senior leader told

The Hindu . The move has the Congress president’s backing and it is being pushed by the party vice-president. The Congress is likely to release a supplementary manifesto promising legislation, with the aim of regaining lost ground in Delhi.

“The Congress is the party of the poor. We will return because of that. We stand holding the hands of the poor,” Mr. Gandhi said at a brief interaction with the media after the two-hour roadshow through the streets of the Kalkaji constituency.

Mr. Gandhi took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. “The NDA government has been in power since May. The Prime Minister is still doing his own PR.”

The Congress is focussing on three issues ahead of the election. “The issues are electricity and water, regularising contractual labour and the right to shelter,” Mr. Gandhi said.