Ready to be Prime Minister if Congress emerges as single largest party: Rahul Gandhi
Bengaluru: Rahul Gandhi today made it clear that he was ready to become Prime Minister if the Congress party emerged as the single largest party in the 2019 national election.
At a gathering of prominent citizens in Bengaluru, an outreach organised in the last few days of campaigning for the May 12 elections in Karnataka, the Congress President was asked whether he could become Prime Minister.
"I am pretty convinced that Mr Modi is not going to be prime minister. I can see it in his face. He knows it," he said in reply to a question.
"Will you become prime minister?" the questioner asked.
"Well it depends... it depends on how well the Congress party does. If the Congress party is the biggest party, yes," he responded.
If the Congress acted as a "platform" (with other parties in a coalition), the BJP didn't stand a chance of winning the elections, he said, stressing on opposition unity.
"It is highly unlikely that BJP will form the next government, and the second part is that it is close to impossible that Modi will be the next prime minister," he added.
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Karnataka govt hints at increasing PHH ration card income limit
Bengaluru (PTI) The Karnataka government on Thursday indicated that it may hike the family income limit to obtain a Priority Households (PHH) ration card, considering rising costs.
Karnataka Health & Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao gave this indication in the Legislative Assembly, while replying to a question on behalf of Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa. He was responding to a question by senior BJP MLA C N Ashwath Narayan, during question hour.
"The current family annual income limit of Rs 1.20 lakh was fixed in 2017, it should certainly be accepted that the amount is less. From 2017, we are now in 2026. There is a need to revise this. It must be re-examined," said Rao, who previously served as Food and Civil Supplies Minister.
Noting that the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission, headed by senior Congress MLA R V Deshpande, has recommended increasing the income limit to Rs 3 lakh, he said, "The department will look into this."
Raising the issue, Narayan stressed the need for higher income limits as the cost of living in Bengaluru had risen.
Replying to Narayan's statement that 50 per cent of the urban population should get PHH or Antyodaya cards, citing the Food Security Act, the minister said the act meant for the country as a whole, while it varies for states.
Karnataka has 1.24 crore households with PHH ration cards, Rao said. "The Centre has identified 1.09 crore eligible families in Karnataka. But the state has exceeded this by 15.8 lakh families. In some rural areas, 95 per cent of the population is covered."
He also highlighted cases where ineligible people have obtained the card.
"There is demand for this card as it is considered the basis for obtaining other benefits like medical and other things. They don't want it for obtaining ration, but for other benefits," he said.
