‘All 5 promises will become law after first cabinet meeting’

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the five ‘guarantees’ promised by the party before the elections in Karnataka will be implemented within a few hours after the first Cabinet meeting.

He also said the people of Karnataka defeated BJP’s ”hatred and corruption” in the Assembly elections.

”I had said we don’t make false promises. We do what we say. The first cabinet meeting of the new government will take place in one to two hours. In that meeting, all the five ‘guarantees’ will become a law,” Gandhi said after the swearing-in ceremony of Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister.

These guarantees are: 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi) and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti).

Political observers said the promise of ‘guarantees’ found resonance with the people during the campaigning, particularly women, and played a key role in the stupendous victory of the Congress in the Assembly polls. Gandhi also said the Congress won the election because it had ”truth and the backing of poor people” by its side whereas the BJP had ”money, power and police.” ”However, the people defeated the BJP, their corruption and hatred in the election. As we had said in our Padayatra, love won and the hatred lost,” Gandhi said.

He also expressed his gratitude to the people of Karnataka for their wholehearted support to the Congress.

”We understand the sufferings you underwent in the last five years. Media wrote about why the Congress won the election. Various analyses and various theories were floated. However, the reason for the victory was that the Congress stood by poor, weaker sections and backward communities, Dalits and tribals,” he said.

In the May 10 Assembly elections, the Congress ousted the BJP from power, winning 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly. BJP got 66 seats and the Janata Dal (Secular) headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda managed only 19.