Priyanka Gandhi sounds Congress' 'guarantee' pitch in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh

The Congress on Thursday promised free education up to Class XII and monthly scholarships ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1,500 in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh - where it seeks to oust the BJP from power - with party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi counting a dozen ‘guarantees’.

Taking a leaf out of its successful strategy in Karnataka, where the Congress was catapulted to power in the May elections, the guarantees for voters in Madhya Pradesh, some of which were already announced, include a return to the Old Pension Scheme, a loan waiver for farmers, a caste census, subsidised power and cooking gas cylinders and filling vacancies reserved for SCs and STs.

Addressing an election rally in tribal-dominated Mandla, Priyanka launched a scathing attack on the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, saying the voters trusted the BJP, but instead, the saffron party created a "record" with regards to corruption and commission. She alleged there were around 250 scams in the 225 months that the BJP was in power.

"The people of Madhya Pradesh, troubled by the BJP's corruption, are going to usher in change. The Congress will form a government in the state with an overwhelming majority," Priyanka, whose rally was the second in three days for the party after Rahul Gandhi's programme in Shahdol, said.

Announcing plans to launch the 'Padho-Padhao' (learn and teach) scheme once the Congress comes to power, she promised free education from Class I to XII, as well as monthly scholarship of Rs 500 to students from Classes 1 to 8, Rs 1,000 to those in Classes 9 and 10 and Rs 1,500 to those in Classes 11 and 12.

She reiterated the party's commitment to hold a caste census, saying such a survey would reveal how many people from OBC, SC and ST communities there are in the country. "Through the census, we can find out whether justice is being done to them or not. But the BJP government does not want to conduct a caste census," she said.

She alleged that the region's tribals, who collect tendu leaves for a living, "are being given shoes instead of bonuses" by the BJP government.

"The shoes differ in size. They might be getting a commission. Do shoes, slippers, and umbrellas represent your respect? Is this your honour? You must get respect for your labour," she said.

The 12 guarantees she counted also included free electricity till 100 units and half rate for the next 100 units, gas cylinders for Rs 500, Rs 1,500 per month per woman, filling of vacant posts of SCs and STs in government jobs, implementation of the Sixth Schedule in areas with more than 50% tribal population and free electricity to farmers for agricultural pumps of up to 5 HP capacity.