A day after filing his nomination to succeed his mother Sonia Gandhi as head of the Grand Old Party (GOP), Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday, promised a sunahra bhavishya (golden future) to the people of Gujarat, which goes to two-phased assembly polls on December 9 and 14.

“Within 10 days of forming our government in Gujarat, we will frame a policy for waiving farmers’ loans….Also, the salaries of employees, not increasing at par with price-rise, will keep increasing,” he told an election meeting at Anjar in Kutch district this afternoon.

Gandhi said he will not promise to give Rs 15 lakh to each person (as allegedly done by the then Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections). “I cannot simply do it. But I can only say we will do all we can to fulfill the promises we make.”

In its election manifesto released on Monday, the Gujarat Congress virtually promised the moon, including farmers’ loan waiver, 50 per cent reduction in electricity rates, unemployment allowance to 30 lakh youth, 25 lakh houses in five years for middle and lower-income groups, etc.

Referring to the Prime Minister's election speeches, he said Modi focused 60 per cent of his speech time on the Congress and me (Gandhi). “But these polls are not about parties or persons. These are about ideologies, about the future of the people of Gujarat. Modi, however, says nothing on this issue.”

He said the Congress manifesto is not for the party alone but has been drafted after detailed discussions with stakeholders, including farmers and youth.

Criticising the 'Gujarat model', Gandhi said it was, in fact, a 'Modi model'. A Gujarat model should be one where the people’s power is utilised to strengthen the nation.

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