Raipur: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday pledged to make education from ‘KG to PG (kindergarten to postgraduation) free in Chhattisgarh if the party was voted to power in the November Assembly elections.
Addressing an election rally in Bhanupratappur in Kanker in the tribal-dominated Bastar region, Gandhi declared: “Not a single paise will have to be paid for school and college education.”
He also promised to provide an annual financial assistance of Rs 4,000 each to the ‘tendu’ leaf collectors. The forest produce is collected by tribals. Gandhi also criticised BJP for terming tribals as ‘Vanvasi’ instead of ‘Adivasi’, saying that it amounted to slighting their culture, history and language.
Gandhi also declared that a nationwide caste census would be conducted if the Congress formed a government at the Centre. He said that the caste census would ensure inclusive growth in the country.
He took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remaining silent on the caste census, saying, “Modi ji mentions the word ‘OBC’ in his speeches, but is scared of caste census”.
The Congress former president said that Congress had fulfilled all the promises it had made for Chhattisgarh in the 2018 polls. He is on a two-day visit to Chhattisgarh ahead of the two-phase state polls on November 7 and November 17.
