New Delhi:
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today reiterated his party's promise that they would give Rs 1 lakh annually to poor women if voted to power, and in the same breath added an unexpected assessment: 'But I know that the men in their family will take away some of that. money from them.”
“In the 21st century, both men and women go to work. They work eight to ten hours a day. Then they return home and women work another eight hours. Men work eight to ten hours. In the 21st century, tribal women work for 16 to 18 hours,” he said at an election rally in Chaibasa in Jharkhand.
“Maybe the men will not like what I say but it is a fact and that is why we are going to put Rs 1 lakh in the bank accounts of women,” Gandhi said, highlighting the Congress' proposed plan for ' Nari Nyay'.
He went a step further and said, “I also know that men will pressure women to give them a share of that money. It is a fact that needs to be said.”
Jharkhand: “We will deposit Rs 1 lakh in women's accounts, but I know the men in the family will take that money from them…,” says Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Chaibasa, Singhbhum, pic.twitter.com/2buWzguxso
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Rahul Gandhi announced that the INDIA bloc, if voted to power, would draw up a list of impoverished people, including people from tribal, Dalit and OBC communities, to identify those living below the poverty line. He also promised to provide Rs 8,500 per month to women, which amounts to Rs 1 lakh per year.
The Congress has said that they would deposit Rs 1 lakh every year in the bank accounts of women from the country's poorest families until the day that family crosses the poverty line when their government is formed in the country.
Mr Gandhi at the meeting also promised to provide one-year internships to unemployed diploma holders and graduates. “If we come to power, we will provide internships to unemployed graduates and degree holders and pay Rs 8,000 per month,” he added.
He also spoke about former Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who was in jail in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam: “Hemant Soren chootega (Hemant Soren will be released)” – to which the crowd responded with slogans like “Jail ka tala tutega, Hemant Soren chootega (prison locks will be broken, Hemant Soren will be released).
The former Congress president was fielding Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate Joba Manjhi for the Singhbhum Lok Sabha seat. The seats of Singhbhum and Lohardaga will go to polls along with Khunti and Palamu on May 13.
The JMM has fielded Joba Manjhi as its candidate for the INDIA block in Singhbhum against BJP's Geeta Kora, who recently quit the Congress.