Congress president announces five guarantees for J&K
While campaigning in South Kashmir’s Anantnag constituency, Kharge promised restoration of statehood, ₹3000 monthly stipend to families headed by women and increase of rice grains to 11 kg per head in the UT under public distribution system
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday promised five guarantees, including ₹5 lakh interest-free loans for women entrepreneurs and ₹ 25 lakh health insurance per family, if the coalition parties form government in Jammu and Kashmir.
While campaigning in South Kashmir’s Anantnag constituency, Kharge promised restoration of statehood, ₹3000 monthly stipend to families headed by women and increase of rice grains to 11 kg per head in the UT under public distribution system (PDS).
“We will jointly get statehood of J&K restored and will fight for it. If the National Conference (NC) and Congress government comes to power in J&K. I promise, we will get both houses, assembly and legislative council restored,” the Congress president told a roaring crowd at Anantnag.
This was the second visit of the Congress president to J&K since the NC and Congress announced to contest assembly elections jointly last month at NC president Farooq Abdullah’s residence.
Kharge, along with Congress general secretary PC Venugopal, was campaigning in South Kashmir where Congress is contesting on four seats— Devsar, Dooru, Tral and Anantnag West. Reading out the five guarantees, Kharge said there are one lakh open vacancies in J&K.
“If we come to power, we will fill all one lakh vacancies. We will employ young people,” he said, adding that BJP wants to keep people of J&K poor.
Kharge said tourism, manufacturing, jobs and industrial sectors will be their top priority. “We will open all those school which have been closed,” he said, adding that they are going to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandit migrants and fulfil promises made during the tenure of former Prime Minister Manmohan Sigh.
Kharge said OBCs in J&K will also get their rights which have been given to them in the Constitution of India.
The Congress president termed promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister as “lies”.
“They, Modi ji and Amit Shah, are head of liars. They keep on spreading lies. By speaking truth, we have worked in the country for 70 years and keep the nation in peace. We have done tremendous work in the country in irrigation, employment and the public sector,” he added.
He said the alliance between NC and the Congress has left the BJP government unnerved. “They (BJP) are changing list of candidates frequently. They are so afraid they have changed two to three lists,” he added.
Later, Kharge also addressed a press conference in Srinagar and sought votes for the alliance candidates across J&K.
‘Waqf bill sent to JPC due to alliance’
Kharge said Congress and its alliance partners are also fighting for Muslims. “If Congress would haven’t formed an alliance in the country, the Waqf bill would have never sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) during past years many bills were passed without discussing in the Parliament,” he said.
“Today the situation is different and BJP government is in minority. And, this is the reason Waqf board bill is before the JPC.They (BJP) will try to bulldoze it but we are fighting for you and keep on fighting on your behalf,” he added.