Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday made two promises– a cooking gas cylinder at Rs.500 to 10.05 million families and an annual honorarium of Rs.10,000 to the woman head of a family, if the Congress party is re-elected.
Gehlot said that under the “Grah Laxmi Guarantee”, the woman head of a family will be given Rs.10,000 a year in instalments. He said that these initiatives, if implemented successfully, could bring significant benefits to a large number of households in Rajasthan.
Ahead of the state polls scheduled for November 25, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi while addressing a public rally in Ardawata village of Jhunjhunu district, said that the promises and schemes of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre are “hollow”, whereas those framed by the Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan are being implemented on the ground.
The government speaks of the women’s reservation, but it will be delivered after 10 years, they talk about the reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) but when Congress raised the issue of caste census, they went silent, and even they promised to complete the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) but nothing happened, Gandhi said.
The ERCP is an ambitious project that will help augment the irrigation facilities in an area of around two lakh hectares and address the drinking water problems of 13 districts in eastern Rajasthan.
{{/usCountry}}The ERCP is an ambitious project that will help augment the irrigation facilities in an area of around two lakh hectares and address the drinking water problems of 13 districts in eastern Rajasthan.
{{/usCountry}}“Their (BJP’s) announcements are hollow but all the guarantees and promises made by the Congress government are executed on the ground,” said Gandhi.
She said the BJP has understood that talking about religions and castes during the election will get votes for them. “The Centre tries to suppress people. It only wants to be in power and secure its future,” Gandhi said.
It is the responsibility of the people to make a leader responsible and accountable, Gandhi said, adding, “…those who do the politics of religion, their accountability is over. At the time of elections, they (BJP) talk about religion as everyone’s sentiments are connected with it…and will get the votes”.
She asked the people to be aware or else this system (politics based on religion and caste) will not end. She also alleged that the BJP-led Centre is running for a select few industrialists and there is no hearing of public issues in this government.
Gandhi further spoke about the division in the BJP. “BJP is a scattered party which is not taking care of your future and is increasing inflation, on the other hand, there is the Congress party, which is dedicated to you,” she said.
Pradesh Congress Committee chief Govidn Singh Dotasra, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, and transport minister Brijendra Ola also addressed the rally.
Meanwhile, during the programme, the Congress also included three BJP leaders, who joined the party recently.
BJP MLA Shobharani Kushwah, who was expelled from BJP for cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections last year, joined the Congress
Vikas Chaudhary, BJP leader from Kishangarh, was disgruntled over not getting a BJP ticket from the Kishangarh Assembly seat in the upcoming polls and joined the Congress.
Former National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Mamta Sharma also joined the Congress quitting the BJP.
In the programme, Gandhi unveiled the statue of former Union minister Sisram Ola.
Speaking on the occasion Gehlot said Congress always delivers on the promises made to the public. He added that four million women were given smartphones by the Congress government as promised.
Gehlot said that Congress’ plan to make Rajasthan the number one state in the country by 2030 can’t fructify without the contribution of women. The Congress government is providing smartphones to women and making gas cylinders affordable to empower the women of the state.
Commenting on it, former minister and BJP MLA Vasudev Devnani said, “I believe it’s the mind of the Congress leaders which have gone empty as they are making baseless talks. Such language is not expected from mature politicians.”
“The people know their truth and when they aren’t coming back in power, such announcements don’t make any sense,” he said.