Jaipur: With only a month left for the Rajasthan Assembly election, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has come up with a new set of populist announcements. He announced an annual monetary assistance of ₹10,000 to the woman head of the family and a gas cylinder for ₹500 for more than one crore families.
Addressing a party rally with party's general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Jhunjhunu, he said the amount will be credited every year into the accounts of one woman per family in the state in two or three instalments.
There are about 1.25 crore families and this annual monetary assistance is to cost ₹12500 crores to the government every year while the subsidised cylinder scheme is to cost around ₹400 crores.
Reacting to the Congress government's promise, BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore said, "The Congress will not benefit by making these announcements after elections have been announced. If they wanted women to benefit, the announcement could have been made earlier."
Priyanka coins new slogan
Addressing the public meeting Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra almost repeated his five-day-old speech in Rajasthan and coined a new slogan for polls in the state. Accusing the central government for not acting on the caste census, late implementation of women reservation and the unfulfilled promise of the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project in Rajasthan, Priyanka said it shows that 'Modi ka life Khali hai' (there is nothing in Modi's pocket).
She once again accused the central government of working for only two industrialists and said that it had no vision. ' It is not creating employment. Public sector companies used to generate employment, but this government sold them to its two big industrialist friends,' said the Congress leader.
The 'grandaughter of martyrs'
In the land of soldiers, Priyanka calls herself the daughter and granddaughter of martyrs and says that she can understand the pain of the families of martyrs.
Accusing the BJP of its communal politics, the Congress leader said that they have understood that there is no need to work, just take the name of religion, and caste and collect votes. 'You have to make them answerable. I came here not to seek your votes but to awaken you, said Priyanka.
