JOIN USIn poll-bound Assam, Priyanka leaves no leaf unturned
Alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an attack on Assam's identity by bringing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Congress general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday gave five "guarantees" to voters in poll-bound Assam that included a promise to scrap the amended act.
From Rs 2,000 each month to housewives, free electricity up to 200 units, five lakh government jobs, hiking daily wages of tea garden workers from Rs 167 at present to Rs 365, Gandhi said the five promises would provide succor to people in Assam, who were angry at the BJP's alleged failure to fulfill the promises it made before coming to power in 2016.
"BJP promised to protect jati, mati and bheti (community, land and hearth) before coming to power. They promised that your identity will be protected. But they did the opposite in the past five years in power. They launched the attack on Assam's identity by bringing the CAA. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently talked about an attack on Assam tea. But he himself launched the attack on Assam's identity by bringing the CAA. So today we are giving you a guarantee that the Congress government will not allow implementation of the CAA in Assam once it comes to power," Gandhi said at a rally at Tezpur in North Assam's Sonitpur district.
"PM Modi did not come to Assam when you suffered serious flood and even during the pandemic. When people of Assam were protesting against the CAA, PM did not come and instead police opened fire, killing five protesters," she said.
Assam will witness three phase elections in March 27, April 1 and April 6. BJP is contesting elections with two regional allies, AGP and UPPL. Congress, on the other hand formed a "grand alliance" with six other parties, including Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front and Bodoland People's Front, BJP's ally in 2016 Assembly polls.
Anti-CAA protesters claim that CAA would destroy identity and culture of the indigenous people by giving citizenship to large number of post-1971 Hindu Bengali migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.
Eye on votes from tea garden workers:
Asking why BJP did not fulfill its 2016 promise to hike the daily wage of tea garden workers to Rs 350, Gandhi said Congress would hike the same to Rs 365. "Unemployment is the biggest problem in Assam. They promised to give 25 lakh jobs but could not give even 80,000 jobs. So we are making a promise today that we will give 5 lakh government jobs and create other employment. We will also give Rs 2,000 to women, who work very hard but suffers when there is financial problem at home," Gandhi said.
Earlier, Priyanka visited Sadharu tea estate in neighbouring Biswanath district. She mingled with women tea leaf pluckers, sat on the ground with them, wore their dress, plucked tea leaves and even had two cups of tea sitting on the ground inside the tea garden. On Tuesday evening, she visited a tea garden worker's home and had her evening tea with them
This was part of her campaign to reach out to tea garden voters, who are deciding factors in at least 40 of Assam's 126 Assembly seats.
The promises to tea garden workers are seen as Congress' efforts to counter BJP's scheme to transfer money to bank accounts of tea garden workers, free rice and sugar and recent hike of daily wage by Rs 50, from Rs 167 to Rs 217.