Congress promises free CTVs to poor voters

Racing against time to catch up with Karnataka's poll train that is all set to chug off on May 10, the Congress on Wednesday announced it would distribute free colour television sets to each of the around 5 million below poverty line (BPL) families if voted to power.

Making public the highlights of the to-be-released party manifesto, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Mallikarjuna M Kharge said the free colour television scheme has been conceived to help the poor update their knowledge about present affairs.

"This is no election gimmick. We are quite serious about distributing television sets to educate them on various issues," Kharge said.

The party, however, has not given much thought of where the money will come from for payment towards the television sets. "We have the skill and administrative experience to mobilise resources for the scheme. We will work out an arrangement after we come to power," S M Krishna, Chairman of

Congress Poll Management and Coordination Committee, said.

The move has left the BJP and the JD(S) baffled as they are yet to spell out the contents of their respective election manifestos. A BJP leader remarked: "The Congress has only resorted to plagiarism. It has copied the idea from its ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu to buy votes in the rural pockets."

The JD(S), which has been jolted by the Congress move, alleged: "The Congress has ruled the state for the last 50 years and they have failed to improve electricity situation in the rural pockets. But now they are talking about distributing television sets to these areas."

Not just television sets, the Congress has also made several other promises to lure the voter. Picking threads from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on checking inflation, the party has announced supply of rice at Rs 2 per kg to BPL families in the state. Each family will be eligible for Rs 25 kg rice per month, Kharge said.

"This will, in a way, bail out the poor who are suffering because of rising prices of essential commodities," a Congress leader added.

The party has also planned to eat into the JD(S)-BJP votebank by announcing an interest rate of 3 per cent on loans taken by women's self-help groups, potters, handloom weavers, fishermen and shepherds. "With this, we will be able to remove the sheen off the loan waiver scheme announced by the previous JD(S)-BJP government," the Congressman said pointing to the plans of the JD(S) and the BJP to ride high on the surf worked up by the loan waiver scheme.

The other major poll promises being made by the Congress are: Extending the Yeshaswini health insurance scheme to all green card holders; paying Rs 1,200 per month as stipend for 2 years by linking it to skill training programme to every unemployed youth who has passed the SSLC examination (10th standard); constructing houses for 15 lakh families in five years and waiving off all the arrears of Ashraya Indira Awaas Yojana housing loans.

"We are running out of time, we needed to come out with something that will help us win back our traditional votes. These promises are just a part of the main manifesto to be approved by the National Manifesto Committee. We will shortly announced a detailed manifesto that caters to each segment of voters," the Congressman added.

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I PROMISE

One colour TV per house (for all green card holder families)

25 kg of rice at Rs 2 per kg for all green card holder families every month

Loans at 3 per cent interest rate to farmers, women self help groups and weavers.

Rs 1,200 stipend to unemployed youths for 2 years

Houses for 1.5 million homeless families