Charkhi Dadri: Rahul Gandhi goes all guns blazing to woo farmers, youth, women
Sunit Dhawan
Charkhi Dadri, May 22
At Charkhi Dadri today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s agenda was clear — striking a chord with farmers, youth and women. He had one promise for each of these sections on assuming power — waiver of loans for farmers, guarantee of jobs for the youth and Rs 8,500 per month for one woman of every BPL family.
Besides, the wages of the MGNREGA workers would be increased from Rs 250 to Rs 400 and the honorarium of the ASHA and Aanganwadi workers would be doubled, he said. The Congress leader got a thunderous applause from the gathering, especially the youth, when he said that the Agniveer scheme would be thrown into the dustbin upon the formation of a government of the INDIA bloc at the Centre.
Inderjit, a veteran CPM leader of Haryana and vice-president of the state chapter of the All-India Kisan Sabha, who attended the rally, said, “Rahul Gandhi focused on people-centric issues and especially touched the hearts of farmers, youth, women and small-time workers. He concluded by saying that the BJP wanted to change the country’s Constitution, but no power in the world could do so. The resounding response he got from the gathering indicated that the rally was a success.”
Political pundits maintain that the Congress leader covered pertinent points regarding specific groups who constitute a major chunk of voters. “Take for instance, the issue of unemployment, with a special focus on the Agniveer scheme. Unemployment is a burning issue in Haryana as the state’s youth are more inclined towards government service than private jobs or business. A large number of youth used to get absorbed in the armed forces, and a majority of them came from the families of farmers. There is widespread resentment against the Agniveer scheme in the village communities and by announcing to scrap it, Rahul struck an instant chord with them,” observed Prof Rajendra Sharma, a political analyst, who is the Head of Department of Political Science, MDU, Rohtak.
Promises made
Rahul Gandhi had one promise for each of these sections — waiver of loans for farmers, guarantee of jobs for the youth and Rs 8,500 per month for one woman of every BPL family
