Wedding kits Cong poll sop for brides

Bhubaneswar: Taking a cue from the marriage welfare schemes in Tamil Nadu and Telangana, Congress in Odisha on Monday promised financial assistance to brides hailing from the low-income group, if the party is voted to power in the coming election.
“We will provide marriage kits to poor brides. Each kit will contain some cash and other wedding-related materials,” Niranjan Patnaik, president of the Odisha unit of Congress, said.

He, however, did not reveal whether gold ornaments would be offered to the brides and the exact amount that the party promises to give them.

“We will soon decide on the the contents that would make up the marriage kit,” Niranjan said. According to the latest data released by the Election Commission, Odisha has altogether 3,18,00,787 voters. This included 1,54,60,545 women.

Significantly, in the run-up to the recent assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress had promised Rs 51,000 for the marriage of daughters of farmers. In Telangana, the Congress had promised financial assistance of Rs 1,50,116 for the marriage of poor girls against Rs 1,00,116 being currently provided by the TRS government under the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme. Sources said the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu had in 2011 launched ‘Thaaliku Thangam’ (gold for Mangalsutra), a wedding assistance scheme to help poor parents conduct the weddings of their daughters, whereby gold coins were provided to help them get a mangalsutra made from that.

Congress, which has been out of power in Odisha since 2000, also promised appointment of women safety officers in gram panchayats to address the issues of women in distress.

“We assure you that the women in Odisha will get immediate assistance in the wake of problems. The women safety officers in gram panchayats will give a patient hearing to the victims,” Niranjan said.

However, both the BJD and BJP said the promises of Congress will have no bearing on the people of the state. “People are well aware of the decades of Congress misrule in the state and country. Congress is based on falsehood and has looted the country. Such promises are hollow and do not reflect the reality,” BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra told TOI.

BJP spokesperson Samir Mohanty hit out at both the BJD and Congress. “While the Congress did precious little during its rule in the state, the BJD has been neglecting the people for the past 19 years,” Mohanty said.