5 Cong guarantees to be reality at first Karnataka Cabinet meet today: Rahul

Congress’s much-touted five guarantees in Karnataka will be implemented as the first Cabinet meeting is held on Saturday (May 20), former party chief Rahul Gandhi said at the swearing-in ceremony earlier in the day.

“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 Karnataka Chief Minister.

These five guarantees are: 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 as monthly assistance to the female 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 18-25 age group) for two years (Yuva Nidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti).

Also read: Karnataka: Committed to working unitedly for people, say Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar

Political observers said the 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.

“Congress stood by weaker sections”

Gandhi also said on Saturday that the people of Karnataka had defeated BJP’s “hatred and corruption” in the Assembly elections. According to him, 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 (Bharat Jodo Yatra), 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.

Also read: Karnataka villagers refuse to pay power bills citing free units promised by Cong

“We understand the sufferings you underwent in the past 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 HD Deve Gowda managed only 19.

(With agency inputs)