Rahul Gandhi promises Rs one cr per village panchayat, Rs 5,000 cr for Kalyana Karnataka region
Jevargi/Ballari, Apr 28: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday promised allocation of Rs one crore for each village panchayat, and Rs 5,000 crore for the Kalyana Karnataka region if his party is voted to power in the May 10 State Assembly polls.
The former Congress chief also promised to set up an apparel park in Ballari with an investment of Rs 5,000 crore.
Amid rains, he addressed an election rally at Jevargi in Kalaburagi district, where he promised to fill 50,000 government job vacancies.
"We will allocate Rs 5,000 crore for this region. Each village panchayat will get Rs one crore," a drenched Gandhi said.
The Kalyana Karnataka region comprises the districts of Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Kalaburagi, Ballari and Vijayanagara.
At Ballari, it was his promise to set up an apparel park and not that of the Congress, he said, adding that he would ensure that the district became the number one jeans hub' in the world.
"This is my promise to make Ballari a jeans capital'. I want to see the day when whoever wears jeans will have Made in Ballari' written on it," Gandhi said.
Criticising the ruling party, he said Ballari was at the centre of the 40 per cent theft' and the "amount of theft BJP did in Ballari, no one else would have ever done here".
"This theft caused enormous loss to the people of Ballari. Now the major change will happen here. Not just in elections but in your life," Gandhi added.
He also made a 'prophecy' that the ruling BJP would get only 40 seats "since it loves this number".
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Gandhi alleged that BJP ministers in Karnataka collected 40 per cent commission for public works from contractors and, hence, the party would not get more than 40 seats, while the Congress would win 150 seats and form the next government.
Calling the incumbent BJP government "a government by theft", he said the ruling party had purchased MLAs from opposition ranks.
"We are going to form the government. No one can stop our party from coming to power," Gandhi said.
He also reiterated the four key "guarantees" of the Congress: Rs 2,000 to woman head of families, 200 units of free power to every household, Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18 to 25 years) for two years, and 10 kg rice to every member of a BPL family a month.
Apart from this, Gandhi also announced the party's fifth "guarantee" on Thursday free bus ride for women in public transport buses.
From Bellary to Bengaluru, the people of Karnataka have spoken and their message is loud and clear - Congress is back and here to stay with 150+ seats!
— Indian Youth Congress (@IYC) April 28, 2023
Scenes from Shri @RahulGandhi‘s roadshow and public meeting at Bellary today. pic.twitter.com/TMewKPUD3k
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Had Indira Gandhi been alive, BJP would have been nowhere: Congress leader Nana Patole
Mumbai, Nov 14: Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Thursday said had former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi been alive today, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would have nowhere politically.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Patole criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his comments at a poll rally in Maharashtra on Wednesday that Article 370, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, won’t be restored even if Indira Gandhi, who died in 1984, comes down from heaven.
Article 370 of the Constitution was scrapped by the BJP-led central government in August 2019.
The Maharashtra Congress president sought to know what has been achieved by nullifying the contentious constitutional provision.
''Shah should stop making such remarks. What have you achieved from abrogation of Article 370? You were able to conduct assembly elections (in J&K) after 10 years. Terrorism hasn't stopped and soldiers continue to be martyred every day. Instead Shah should tell people whether the BJP has fulfilled promises made in 2014 and 2019 polls," Patole said.
He remarked that had Indira Gandhi, a Congress stalwart who served as PM for more than 15 years, been alive today, the BJP would have been nowhere.
The BJP is scared of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, a trenchant critic of the saffron party, and sees him even in their dreams, Patole said in reply to a question.
