Youngsters constitute more than 50% of the United Democratic Front candidate list and they will give a new vision to Kerala, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said.
Addressing an election convention at Konni on Saturday, Mr.Gandhi said the coalition’s candidates were a good mix of experience and youthfulness so that it could take the State to a new path of development.
“Our election manifesto was not made in a closed office. Instead, we reached out to you and asked about your requirements. Based on it, a State-specific action plan has been finalised,” he said.
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Mr. Gandhi also spoke of the United Democratic Front’s plan to roll out the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (Nyay) on a pilot basis in Kerala, which envisages providing ₹72,000 to every poor person in the State. The welfare pension will be increased to a minimum of ₹3,000 while the minimum support price for major crops, including rubber, paddy and cardamom, will be raised substantially.
“This additional amount will be used up for consumption, in turn reviving the economy and creating more employment,” he noted.
Mr. Gandhi spoke at three locations across Pathanamthitta before departing for Idukki via Erumely.
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Addressing a rally at Puttady, near Kumily, in Idukki, Mr. Gandhi reiterated the UDF’s resolve to pilot Nyay if elected to power in the State.
Taking a dig at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Mr Gandhi said the former was sitting on the driving seat of a car without petrol. “Sometimes he is trying to start it and give the accelerator, but the car is not moving,” he said. “This is the situation of the State economy,” he added. “Sometimes the Chief Minister reads Das Kapital by Karl Marx. But he did not get answer. The reality is that there is no answer in the book,” he said.
He also attended meetings at Adimali, Thodupuzha, and Erumely.
( With inputs from Idukki bureau)