Congress doesn’t make false promises like BJP: Rahul Gandhi in Tripura

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday appealed to the people of Tripura to vote for the Congress to bring good governance, saying unlike the BJP, his party does not make false promises.

Alleging that neither the CPI(M) nor the BJP pay attention to development, he said the Congress is the only party which can deliver on its poll promises and will form government at the Centre in 2019.

The Congress president was here to canvas for his party on the last day of campaigning in the north eastern state ruled by CPI(M)-Left Front for almost 25 years. "What the Congress pledges, it implements them. It does not make any false promise of something it cannot implement. If we come to power, we would implement what we have pledged," he said.

The BJP has assured the people here to pay Rs 340 as wage for MGNREGA if it came to power, but in Assam it is paying Rs 184 as wages, Gandhi alleged. The BJP also promised to implement the rewards of the 7th Pay Commission recommendation for the employees of the state and the same assurance had been given to the people of Assam by the saffron party, but it did not implement it there, Gandhi claimed. "The BJP always makes tall promises before the elections, but never implements what it assures," he said.

The Congress president alleged a scam in the purchase of Rafale plane deal and claimed that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi snatched the contract from Hindustan Aeronautical Limited and gave it to "one of his friends". "We keep asking if the planes cost more or less in the deal and there is no reply from the prime minister," Gandhi said at an election rally at Unakoti district.

The election will be held on Sunday and the results will be out on March 3. The Congress had secured 36.53 per cent votes in the 2013 Assembly polls and had 10 MLAs. But now it has only two. Six of them first switched over to the Trinamool Congress and later joined the BJP. One more MLA of the party joined the BJP recently while another one lost his seat to CPI(M) in a by-poll.

Training his guns at the ruling Left Front, Gandhi alleged that Tripura became backward during its rule. "The healthcare system has broken down and the rate of suicide and crime against women in Tripura is the highest in the country," he said. Gandhi said 14 lakh people in the state were cheated by various chit fund companies and if the Congress comes to power, those deposits would be given back by the government and stern actions would be taken against the guilty people.

Alleging that the country suffered because of demonetization and the GST, he said the Congress would form government at the Centre in 2019.

PTI