Speaking in a rally in Jevargi, Kalaburagi, he also announced that each gram panchayat in the region would get Rs 1 crore.
Gandhi alleged that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and BJP president Lal Krishna Advani had opposed the idea of Article 371 (J) – a constitutional provision that provided special provisions for the then Hyderabad-Karnataka region, like development funds, reservation in state government jobs and reservation in educational institutes in the region. “It was the Congress regime which brought the provision in 2012,” he added.
The BJP has not implemented the Article properly, and its benefits have not reached the region due to its negligence, he said. “We will bring in a special education policy, so that IITs and IIMs come here,” he added. He said that the government will fill the 50,000 government jobs that are currently lying vacant.
The Congress leader slammed the BJP for criticizing the Congress’ guarantees, saying it was not possible for people who take 40% commission to make any promises. Gandhi had unveiled the fifth guarantee on Thursday, promising that if elected, the government would provide free bus transport across the state for women.
Gandhi held rallies in Koppal and Bellary as well. With polls due in two weeks, Congress’s senior leaders are covering different regions, hoping to make one last push for the win.
In Bellary, he visited a jeans manufacturing hub and promised that the region would become a jeans capital. “This is my personal promise, not one by the Karnataka government,” he said. Bellary is famous for jeans and its garment industry has been flourishing since the British era, when the troops’ uniforms would be stitched in the region.
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