Bengaluru (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the five 'guarantees' promised by the party before the elections in Karnataka will be implemented within a few hours after the first Cabinet meeting.

He also said the people of Karnataka defeated BJP's "hatred and corruption" in the Assembly elections.

"I had said we don't make false promises. We do what we say. The first cabinet meeting of the new government will take place in one to two hours. In that meeting, all the five 'guarantees' will become a law," Gandhi said after the swearing-in ceremony of Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister.

These guarantees are: 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi) and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti).

Political observers said the promise of 'guarantees' found resonance with the people during the campaigning, particularly women, and played a key role in the stupendous victory of the Congress in the Assembly polls.

Gandhi also said the Congress won the election because it had "truth and the backing of poor people" by its side whereas the BJP had "money, power and police."

"However, the people defeated the BJP, their corruption and hatred in the election. As we had said in our Padayatra, love won and the hatred lost," Gandhi said.

He also expressed his gratitude to the people of Karnataka for their wholehearted support to the Congress.

"We understand the sufferings you underwent in the last five years. Media wrote about why the Congress won the election. Various analyses and various theories were floated. However, the reason for the victory was that the Congress stood by poor, weaker sections and backward communities, Dalits and tribals," he said.

In the May 10 Assembly elections, the Congress ousted the BJP from power, winning 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly. BJP got 66 seats and the Janata Dal (Secular) headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda managed only 19.

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Mangaluru: Fr Melwin J Pinto SJ, Pro-chancellor of St Aloysius University Rector of St Aloysius Institutions, and Vice President of Mangalore Jesuit Educational Society (MJES), breathed his last on Friday, April 10. He was 63.

Born in 1963, Fr Melwin Pinto completed his schooling and college education at St Aloysius before joining the Jesuit order on June 20, 1981. He was ordained as a Jesuit priest on April 14, 1997.

Over the years, he held several academic qualifications, including an MA in English, a Master’s degree in Education, and diplomas in psychology and counselling as well as school administration.

He began his career in education as headmaster of St Joseph’s Primary School and High School in Hassan, serving between 1996 and 1999.

He later founded St Joseph’s Indian PU College and served as its principal until 2007. He subsequently served as headmaster of St Aloysius High School, Mangaluru, from 2007 to 2011, and later as principal of St Joseph’s PU College, Hassan, until 2012.

Fr Melwin Pinto also worked with Vatican Communications and Radio in Rome, contributing to its English desk for Asia and Indian languages.
He later served as superior and director of Fatima Retreat House in Valencia for two years from May 2017, before being appointed as superior of the Jesuit study home ‘Vidyaniketan’ in Dharwad.

He was also closely associated with the development of St Aloysius Institutions and played a key role in securing the status of a Deemed-to-be University. His contribution to the education sector and efforts towards innovation were widely acknowledged. He was known for maintaining close relations with people from all sections of society. 

Legislative Council MLA Ivan D’Souza, in a statement, said the demise of Fr Melwin J Pinto was a huge loss to the educational and religious fields and had created a significant void in society.

Dakshina Kannada District in-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao also expressed grief, stating that his service and contributions to education would always be remembered.

Details regarding the funeral are yet to be announced.