AICC leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday announced that if the party was elected to power in Karnataka, the government would provide Rs 10 lakh insurance cover and Rs 25 subsidy per litre of diesel for fishermen, along with an interest-free loan of Rs 1 lakh for women of the fishing community.
Addressing a crowd of fishermen in Udupi, he said the community is stuck between poverty and inflation. “Fish population is decreasing and the operational cost is rising, resulting in a hike in fish prices. We want to offer you some help, because we know you are in difficult circumstances,” he said.
Gandhi interacted with the fishermen, asking them what their concerns were and what they would want out of the new Congress regime. In response to a query, he promised that 80% of the fishing activities would go back to fishermen’s hands, like it was in Siddaramaiah’s time. “We understand very well the struggle and the unfair competition you are put through,” he added.
Providing a monthly financial assistance to unemployed youth and families led by women, monthly allowance to unemployed graduates and diploma holders, 200 units of electricity and 10 kg of rice free of cost to low-income families are the four guarantees the Congress announced earlier.
All these promises, he said, would be implemented in the first Cabinet meeting itself, just like with the rest of the Congress guarantees. The Congress had announced four guarantees in its campaign, which the BJP has been quick to dismiss as lies, saying the states where the Congress is in power have never seen any promises fulfilled.
Gandhi hit back at the BJP’s accusations, saying the BJP regime was not an elected one, but one that was bought with money power. “One of its own MLAs had said that the Chief Minister’s post can be bought for Rs 2,500 crore,” he said.
Later in the day, Gandhi attended a rally in Mangaluru. “One percent people in India have 40% of the country’s total wealth,” he said. Rising unemployment, decline of small business – this is the BJP’s development, he added.
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