GUWAHATI: With the assembly elections knocking on the door, Rahul Gandhi, who launched the Congress’s poll campaign in the state from Sivasagar on Sunday, promised to raise the tea workers’ daily wage from Rs 167 to Rs 365 if they are voted to power.
“Rs 167 for tea workers, and tea gardens for Gujarat traders. What can you buy with Rs 167 nowadays? We will add around Rs 200 more to make it Rs 365 per day. If they ask from where the money will come, I will say it will be charged from traders of Gujarat,” Rahul said.
Tea tribes in Assam comprise about 17% of the total population.
Slamming chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal for following diktats of Delhi and Nagpur and neglecting the immediate issues of the state, the Congress leader said, “You can control a television with a remote, but not a state like Assam. Chief minister should understand the soul of the state,” He added, “Assam cannot be broken by any power. Those who will try to spread hatred will be firmly dealt with by the Congress and the people of Assam.”
Taking a dig at the Centre on GST and demonetization, Rahul said, “Ask the small traders whether they have benefited from GST. The answer is no”. The Congress leader also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying during the pandemic, he allegedly waived off loans worth crores of his industrialist friends.
“Taking away money from the poor, Narendra Modi waived loans because it’s ‘hum do hamare do’ for him. The government could not even pay the bus fares of migrant workers who had to walk miles to get back home, Rahul said. Speaking about the farmers’ protests, he said, “By bringing the farm laws, Modi wants to hand over the control of the country’s agricultural sector, which is worth Rs 80 lakh crore, to two people.
Recalling former chief minister Tarun Gogoi as his “guru”, Rahul said though Gogoi was conferred upon the Padma Bhushan this year by the government, he was expecting something more for the political stalwart.