‘5 key sops guaranteed,’ says Priyanka Gandhi if Congress wins in Assam

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday announced five guarantees to voters in Assam if the party came to power in the coming assembly polls.

Non-implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam, creating 500,000 jobs, ₹2000 per month as allowance to housewives, minimum daily wage of ₹365 to tea garden workers and 200 units free electricity every month are the five guarantees.

“This election is an election of trust. People of Assam were cheated by a party five years ago that promised them 2.5 million jobs but gave them CAA instead. Congress is not making empty promises but undertaking five guarantees,” Gandhi said at a rally in Tezpur on the second day of her two-day Assam trip.

State Congress president Ripun Bora said the party identified the five guarantees after interactions with voters during the ‘Asom Basaon Ahok’ (Come, Let’s Save Assam) tour across the state.

“After we win the election, we will pass a law in the assembly that won’t allow the CAA to be implemented in Assam. We have already asked lawyers to start drafting such a law,” Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi said.

President of Congress’s manifesto committee and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi said the party was promising only 500,000 government jobs as opposed to the BJP’s unfulfilled promise of 2.5 million government jobs.

“We have studied the state budget and consulted economists and have come to the conclusion that it is possible to provide 500,000 jobs in 5 years. Since this is a guarantee and not an empty election promise, we wanted to be honest and come up with a figure that is actually possible,” he said.

During his visit to Assam last month, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had assured that the party would increase minimum daily wage of tea-garden workers to ₹365 from the existing ₹167.

Few days after Gandhi’s speech, the Assam cabinet announced a hike of ₹50 taking daily wages of tea garden workers to ₹217. An additional ₹101 daily as expenses on ration was also announced taking the total to ₹318.

Debabrata Saikia, Congress legislature party leader in the assembly, affirmed that the tea workers’ wages shall be increased to ₹365 per day within 30 days of the party coming to power.

Last month, the Assam cabinet had decided to give consumers in the state the first 30 units of electricity consumed every month free for a period of two months, The Congress has promised to give 200 units of free electricity to all households.

The present BJP government has started a scheme of giving ₹830 every month to nearly 2.2 million families. The Congress guarantee of ₹2000 per month to housewives is a response to that scheme.

“The Congress can keep making promises of all sorts as they won’t come to power. People in Assam have seen their misrule for decades and are not going to be fooled this time,” said BJP spokesperson Rupam Goswami.