Rahul Gandhi reiterates 'love' for Modi, says PM angry with him
Pune: Congress President Rahul Gandhi Friday reiterated his 'love' for Prime Minister Narendra Modi but bemoaned that the latter has only anger towards him.
Gandhi was interacting with students in Pune.
"I love PM Modi. Genuinely, I have no hatred or anger towards the man, but he (Modi) has anger towards me," he said.
"I genuinely do not have anger towards him, he added.
There were brief chants of "Modi, Modi" soon after this comment, to which Gandhi responded," Its fine.. its OK".
This was not the first time Gandhi spoke of having 'affection' for Modi. In March, he recalled the day he had hugged Modi and said he could not hate him since love "is in the country's grain, every religion, and the Tamil people".
He made those remarks while interacting with students of a college in Chennai. When a student asked him why he chose to hug the prime minister, Gandhi had said he had watched a 'very angry' Modi in Parliament running down his party, his late father Rajiv Gandhi and mother Sonia.
After a fiery speech in Parliament in October last year, Gandhi had done something unprecedented: He had walked up to Modi and hugged him, leaving the PM bewildered for a moment.
Gandhi also told the students at Pune that his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was his "best friend", adding there can be no fights with her.
Gandhi said he has seen a lot of violence affecting his family and refereed to the assassinations of former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
He gave an insight into his rapport with his younger sibling, who formally entered politics a few months ago, and childhood memories.
Asked if ever has fights or arguments with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, he said, "There would be fights earlier. But not now. Since I was small, I have been through a lot of violence with the assassinations of my grandmother and father.
"My sister has been my friend and we understand each other well. If there is a situation of argument, sometimes she backs off and sometimes I do."
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Focus on Vijay's poll promises; TVK assured 8 gm gold for women
Chennai (PTI): As the new-entrant TVK appears likely to emerge as the single largest party and form the government, the focus has now turned into actor-politician Vijay's poll promises, including 8 gm gold for marriage, which is worth about Rs 14,000 per gram (22 carat).
Vijay's assurances in the party manifesto include Rs 2,500 monthly assistance for women below 60 years, 8 gm gold for marriage and six free cooking gas cylinders a year, per family.
By 3 PM, as per EC data, Vijay's party is leading in 105 constituencies and it falls short of a simple majority (118) in the Assembly.
The actor-turned-politician also assured a quality silk saree in addition to gold for indigent brides and interest-free loans up to Rs 5 lakh for women-run SHGs. He assured corruption-free good governance if voted to power in his maiden electoral fight.
The manifesto also laid importance on education. To prevent school dropouts, mothers or guardians of children studying in government and state-aided schools will receive Rs 15,000 annually.
Vijay promised 100 special residential schools named after iconic leader K Kamaraj, credited with revolutionising education in the state, and higher education loans of up to Rs 20 lakh. The TVK founder also assured AI Ministry, AI University and AI City.
The manifesto placed a strong emphasis on agrarian welfare, too.
The party promised a full waiver of agricultural cooperative crop loans for farmers owning less than five acres of land, while those holding more than five acres will receive a 50 per cent waiver. Additionally, the party promised a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 3,500 per quintal for paddy and Rs 4,500 per tonne for sugarcane.
Addressing youth unemployment, Vijay pledged to create five lakh new government jobs and offer as many stipendiary internships. Unemployed graduates will be provided a monthly aid of up to Rs 4,000. For government employees, the party assured consideration of the Old Pension Scheme and the regularisation of contract workers, including nurses.
On the health front, he promised a drug-free Tamil Nadu. Vijay also committed to modernising hospitals, providing free annual health checkups, and introducing a Rs 25 lakh family health insurance scheme.
The manifesto also included a Rs 3,000 monthly pension for the elderly and the differently-abled, 200 units of free power, patta (land deed) regularisation, and 100 per cent piped drinking water supply for all households.
Some of the policy intereventions promised by TVK include a legal guarantee to provide essential government services like community certificates, and land pattas, within a strictly specified timeframe.
Vijay also promised doorstep delivery of governance by implementing a system to deliver services, such as ration supplies, directly to the people. He also assured that ease of doing business will be paramount to his government and promised a strict guarantee that business licences will be issued within 21 days.
Elections to 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu were held on April 23.
