Jaipur: Targeting the major vote banks of youths, women, farmers and government employees, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on Friday announced five more guarantees. He announced to make a law on the Old Pension Scheme and buying cow dung at ₹2 per kg a scheme already running in Chhattisgarh.
Among other electoral promises was providing a laptop or a tablet to government college students, English medium government schools at the panchayat level and ₹15 lakh insurance cover for losses incurred during any natural disaster.
Although, the party manifesto is yet to be released CM Gehlot is busy making populist announcements. On the question manifesto, he said that it would be a guarantee of the party.
CM Gehlot assures 5 guarantees
Gehlot's five guarantees are in addition to two guarantees -- cooking gas cylinders at ₹500 for 1.05 crore families and an annual honorarium of ₹10,000 to the woman head of a family in installments -- already announced by him at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's public rally in Jhunjhunu on Wednesday.
While on Friday at the war room of the Rajasthan Congress in Jaipur highlighting his track record of fulfilling promises, the Rajasthan chief minister said that the promise by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to waive off loans of farmers was fulfilled in due time.
'Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge say that 'fulfill the promises that you make'. Last time, Rahul Gandhi promised to waive off loans (of farmers) in seven days, and the promise was fulfilled in due time,' said Gehlot adding that Congress has now become synonymous with trust.
Gehlot said his government will also provide smartphones with complimentary internet service for three years to 1 crore women. This scheme was announced in the previous year's budget but was implemented two months before the election and 40 lakh women were given smartphones in the first phase.
Gehlot, though did not disclose the financial arrangements to implement these schemes but claimed that the schemes have been designed after discussing the experts and finance department.
The party has launched a toll-free number to get registered for these guarantees. A missed call on the number will register the beneficiaries.
Gehlot also hit out at the BJP-led central government over the alleged misuse of federal probe agencies a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
'ED on the prowl more than dogs'
"A chief minister (Bhupesh Baghel) had to say that more than dogs, it's the ED that is on the prowl in the country. (Desh me kutton se jyada ED ghum rahi hai). What could be a bigger misfortune than this?" he said.
"Whatever comment he must have made, you can understand that he must have done that in great pain," Gehlot told the press conference. “You (agencies) have become a political weapon. Modi ji, you do not understand, your countdown has begun.”
