Karnataka will go to polls on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.
Udupi:
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday promised Rs 10 lakh insurance cover for fishermen, Rs 1 lakh interest-free loan to women fishermen and Rs 25 per liter diesel subsidy up to a maximum of 500 liters per day, if the Congress comes to power in Karnataka.
During an interaction with members of the fishermen community at Kapu in Udupi district, he alleged that corruption and price rise are hurting fishermen, and bank loans have become difficult to obtain.
The former Congress president said, “The fish population is decreasing, the operation cost is increasing, resulting in an increase in the price of fish. So we want to help you and give you some relief.”
“We will do three things for you: Rs 10 lakh insurance cover for fishermen, Rs 1 lakh interest-free loan to fishing women and Rs 25 per liter diesel subsidy up to 500 liters per day,” Rahul Gandhi said.
“All these assurances will be implemented in the first cabinet meeting of the next government,” he added.
For the Karnataka elections, the Congress had already announced four key ‘guarantees’: 200 units of free electricity to all households (Griha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the female head of every household (Griha Lakshmi), 10 kg rice free to each member of the BPL family (Anna Bhagya), and Rs 3,000 per month for graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for diploma holders (both in the 18-25 age group) for two years (Yuvanidhi), if they come to power in the state .
Describing the upcoming elections as a fight between two ideologies, Rahul Gandhi said the Congress will work for the poor and downtrodden.
He said that the present BJP government in the state was not elected by the people and crores of rupees were spent by that party to “buy” MLAs. “The government is not elected by you, but bought by BJP with money power. This is known to everyone in Karnataka.”
He said that even BJP MLAs are now saying that the post of Chief Minister is for sale for Rs 2500 crore.
He said that after the contractors union filed a complaint that the BJP government was demanding 40 per cent commission for executing any work, people had realized the corruption of the present government.
Rahul Gandhi also alleged that corrupt deals were involved in the appointment of teachers, police inspectors and assistant engineers and the money being spent by the ruling party was being recovered from the people.
“Who are the beneficiaries of your money? They are not spending it for health or education sectors, but for some of their millionaire friends,” he alleged.
Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress will ensure that public money reaches the people.
Karnataka will go to polls on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)