Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has promised that the party will reverse the economic damage done by the Narendra Modi government in the past 10 years if the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) comes to power at the Centre.
Addressing an election rally of the United Democratic Front (UDF) at Fort Maidan here on Thursday afternoon, Mr. Gandhi said that they would initiate some revolutionary steps to reduce unemployment and to empower women in the country.
“Millions of women and their families have fallen below the poverty line since Mr. Modi came to power 10 years ago. We will identify each of those families, and will give ₹1 lakh a year to one woman of those families. It will not be a gift to the women. It will be a compensation for taking care of the families. Each family below the poverty line will get ₹8,500 a month,” said Mr. Gandhi.
He said the wages of Anganwadi and ASHA workers would be doubled. “Mr. Modi says he will give reservation for women in Parliament in 10 years. We don’t need to wait for 10 years. We will implement reservation for women as soon as we come to power,” said Mr. Gandhi.
He also said that 50% reservation for women in public sector units and government services would be ensured. “This will transform the role the women play in governance,” he said.
GST to be revamped
Promising to redesign the GST, Mr. Gandhi said that Mr. Modi had made GST to promote extortion and corruption. “The Prime Minister has purposely created five different levels of GST. We will redesign it. There will be one tax, and that will be minimum. There will be no room for confusion,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi said that if elected they would fill the 30 lakh government job vacancies that Mr. Modi had left unfilled. “We will give jobs to the youngsters,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi said that if elected to power, they would create a law to guarantee year-long apprenticeship for graduates and diploma holders. It would be like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The youngsters would be paid ₹8,500 a month.
“In Hindi, we call it Pehli Nokri Pakki (assurance of first job). Mr. Modi has made an unbreakable wall between the youth and the job market. Pehli Nokri Pakki is designed to break that wall.”
Mr. Gandhi said that the INDIA front would waive the bank loans of farmers across the country and legally guarantee them a minimum support price to their produce. “We will ensure that labourers get a minimum wage of ₹400 a day. We will also double the pension being given to widows,” he said.
Attacks Modi
Mr. Gandhi criticised Mr. Modi for his alleged theory of one nation, one leader, one language and one religion. “How can you tell the people of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh that there will be one language in India? This idea is designed to divide India, which has many languages, histories, religions, and cultures. India is like a bouquet of flowers, where the flowers look more beautiful when they are together,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi said that the richest 22 people, whose wealth was more than that of 70 crore people, were the beneficiaries of the Modi government. “Mr. Modi has given the 22 people 25 years of MGNREGS wages. There is a direct transfer taking place from the poorest to the richest. And the next government will have to take some firm steps to deal with this,” he said.
He said that India had the highest unemployment rate in 45 years. Joblessness and price rise were two of the biggest issues the country was facing. “None of them comes in the national media. When the farmers protest, it never appears on the national media because the national media is controlled by a group supported by Mr. Modi.”
District Congress Committee president A. Thankappan presided over the function. UDF candidates in Palakkad and Alathur V.K. Sreekandan and Ramya Haridas spoke. Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, N. Shamsuddin, MLA, former MP V.S. Vijayaraghavan, former Minister V.C. Kabeer, Congress leaders V.T. Balram, C.P. Mohammed, C.V. Balachandran, and C. Chandran were present.
