New Delhi, March 7 In a significant campaign here, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday announced five key promises aimed at winning over voters in Kerala, while also attacking the ruling Communist Party of India (CPI) and accusing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of being controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking at the concluding ceremony of the state-wide ‘Puthuyuga Yatra,’ led by Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan, as part of the Congress-led United Democratic Front’s (UDF) preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections, Gandhi said, “Just as President Trump influences Prime Minister Modi, the Prime Minister is influencing the Chief Minister of Kerala."
He announced five key pledges for the people of Kerala, including free travel for all women on KSRTC buses, a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 for college-going female students, an increase in welfare pensions to Rs 3,000 per month, a new health insurance scheme with coverage of up to Rs 25 lakh for every household, and interest-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakh for young people starting businesses.
In addition, he announced the creation of a dedicated ministry for the welfare of senior citizens.
Gandhi also launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, accusing him of being controlled by Prime Minister Modi.
He alleged that even members of the CPI(M) were aware of this and would admit it.
“I want to understand why the CBI and ED are taking action against opposition politicians, but not against the Chief Minister of Kerala," he said.
Gandhi also stated that he had been subjected to 36 cases and had been interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate for 55 hours.
He accused the Prime Minister of “betraying” the country.
He claimed that the Prime Minister had opened up India’s agriculture to American agriculture, allowing large American companies to compete with small Indian businesses.
He also accused the Prime Minister of compromising India’s energy security, arguing that India was forced to take permission from the US to buy oil from Russia.
Gandhi also claimed that the Prime Minister had “compromised” India’s data security, arguing that India was the largest producer of data in the world.
Earlier in the day, during a dialogue with the Information Technology (IT) Fraternity at Technopark here, Gandhi said that if India had said that its data was the most valuable in the world, there would have been no taxes on agriculture or on small and medium businesses.
