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A day after filing his nomination to succeed his mother Sonia Gandhi as president of the Congress, the party’s vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday promised a sunahra bhavishya (golden future) to the people of Gujarat.
“Within 10 days of forming our government in Gujarat, we will frame a policy for waiving farmers’ loans. Also, the salaries of employees, (currently) not increasing at par with price rise, will keep increasing,” he told an election rally at Anjar in Gujarat’s Kutch district this afternoon.
Rahul further said he is making no promise to give ₹15 lakh to each citizen (as allegedly made by Prime Minister 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 fulfil the promises we make,” said the Congress leader.
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, and 25 lakh houses in five years for middle- and lower-income groups.
Referring to Modi’s election speeches, Rahul said the former focused 60 per cent of his speech time “on the Congress and me”. “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.
Rahul added that the Congress manifesto has been drafted after detailed discussions with stakeholders like farmers, youth, etc.
‘Modi model’Criticising the “Gujarat model”, as widely publicised by the BJP, Rahul said that, in fact, it was a “Modi model”. A “Gujarat model” would be one where the people’s power is utilised to strengthen the nation, he added.
According to a PTI report, Rahul once again targeted the PM over granting land to Tata Motors for its Nano car project. While Modi’s “industrial friends” got electricity, land and Narmada water at “throwaway” price, farmers are being deprived of these, he said.
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