From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Jan 16: Going a step further on its guaranteed promise of offering 200 units of free power for each household if the Congress party comes to power in the Assembly polls, the State Congress on Monday got its AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to announce the party’s second guarantee of offering a monthly payment of Rs 2,000 to each housewife.
"This is the Congress party’s Second Guarantee of Rs 2000 a month to each housewife shattered by inflation and price rise,’’ Priyanka Gandhi announced at the Congress party’s massive "Naa Nayaki’’ convention of women at the Bengaluru Palace Grounds on Monday.
The monthly dole of Rs 2000 to each housewife or Rs 24,000 a year is the guarantee name is named as ‘’Gruhalakshmi.’’ With this, the Congress party has sought to copy Aam Admi Party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s penchant for announcing sops to woo the electorate but has put the ruling BJP and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in a tight spot as to how best to negate the Congress party’s promises on freebies, when he presents the State budget on February 17.
KPCC chief D K Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah, who along with AICC general secretary and State party in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala and other State Congress leaders, ensured that Priyanka Gandhi turns on her charm to woo the women voters, who are almost half the total electorate in the State, through the promise of Rs 2000 each to each housewife or Rs 24,000 a year as the Congress party’s guarantee to the women.
The Congress party will come out with a separate manifesto to address women’s concerns and issues, Priyanka said and pointed out that the Congress party is genuinely concerned and wants to alleviate the sufferings of women, who are suffering due to spiralling price rise.
Will benefit 1.5 cr women
KPCC president Shivakumar described Priyanka Gandhi’s announcement of the Congress party’s Rs 2,000 per month to each housewife, affected by price rise and inflation, under the ‘’Gruhalakshmi’’ second guarantee post elections, as ‘’historic’’ and would benefit 1.5 crore women.
"Women are the strength of our homes and the base for the State’s growth and progress. All families are suffering due to price rise,’’ he said.
Former chief minister Siddaramaiah ridiculed the ruling BJP for releasing full advertisements in newspapers by announcing that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will come out with a budget for women’s empowerment. "If the chief minister and BJP want to empower women, what prevented them from doing so in the last three and half years? They are worried about definite defeat,’’ he said.
The BJP had given 21 promises to women before the assembly polls in 2018 and after failing to come to power, BJP used 'Operation Kamala' to unseat an elected government and failed to implement any of the promises. Out of the total of 600 promises given to the people, not even 10% were implemented, Siddaramaiah said and pointed out that the BJP woke up after the Congress party’s promise of 200 units of free power to each household.
Bommai, Sudhakar attack Priyanka
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai attacked the Congress party for its women’s empowerment convention with the title, ‘’Naa Nayaki,’’ and wondered whether the opposition party has to issue newspaper advertisements to declare Priyanka Gandhi as its leader.
"Women of Karnataka will not and cannot be fooled by the gimmicks of Congress,’’ Bommai said.
Another BJP leader, Dr K Sudhakar, who jumped from Congress to BJP and became the Health and Family Welfare Minister, claimed that Congress party will lose seats wherever Priyanka Gandhi visits. "The Congress may have got a few seats earlier. But now after Priyanka Gandhi’s visit, the party will lose even the seats it would have own,’’ he predicted.
Addressing BJP workers at Nelamangala, Dr Sudhakar said Congress party cannot match BJP in empowering women and warned that all the promises by Congress cannot be implemented.