NYAY will be "tested" in Kerala if Congress-led UDF is voted to power: Rahul Gandhi
Kottayam: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been pushing for Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) -- a proposed minimum income guarantee scheme, on Tuesday promised people in poll bound Kerala that the scheme will be "tested" in the southern state if the party-led UDF is voted to power.
"I have a selfish reason to test it," Gandhi said, addressing an election corner meeting organised at Manarcad in Puthuppally Assembly constituency represented by former chief minister and senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy for the last 50 years.
Flanked by Chandy and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal on a roofless campaign vehicle, Gandhi said he was confident of the success of the NYAY scheme.
A sum of Rs 72,000 a year will go straight into beneficiaries bank account."And we know what is going to happen next.We are testing a new idea in Kerala," Gandhi told party workers who gathered in large numbers around the campaign vehicle to listen to his speech.
Coining the idea during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Gandhi had described the scheme as a "ground breaking idea" to mark the beginning of the final assault on poverty.
The party, however, failed to win the Lok Sabha polls despite highlighting the NYAY promise in its manifesto.
Gandhi said he wanted to "test" the scheme because if it works in Kerala, he wanted to replicate it in all the Congress ruled states in the country.
"And Kerala is going to show the rest of India on how to fight poverty once and for all," he said.
Earlier, addressing a meeting at Paruthumpara near here, Gandhi said, "the first thing we are going to do when we form government in a number of days is going to start NYAY yojana."
Gandhi had stressed the importance he gives to the NYAY scheme during his election campaign on Monday also, saying it was not going to do this as some form of charity.
"This is not charity.We are giving you money through NYAY..We are putting money in your pockets.So that you can spend money."
This was the only way to uplift the Indian economy which "collapsed" due to the demonetisation done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his flawed GST implementation and COVID-19 pandemic, the Congress leader claimed.
In its manifesto for the April 6 assembly polls, the Congress-led UDF has promised a Rs 2000 'pension' for homemakers, Rs 72,000 annually to the poor under 'Nyay Yojana' and five lakh homes for the underprivileged.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
