Rajasthan polls: Gas subsidy, laptops among Ashok Gehlot's promises

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday offered 'seven Congress guarantees' to the electorate. They are a mix of new and already pledged welfare schemes and include a promise to provide free laptops/tablets for government college students, ₹10,000 annual honorarium for women family heads and ₹15,000 insurance scheme to protect people from losses suffered during natural calamities.

At a news conference in Jaipur on Friday, the CM maintained that his government had delivered on time promises it made to the people earlier and that the seven guarantees too would be delivered similarly. "PM Modi Ji is following our guaranteed model," he claimed.

Gehlot used the occasion to hit out at the Centre and the BJP over searches conducted by the Directorate of Enforcement on the state Congress chief and summons issued to his son. He referred to Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel's remark against repeated actions of central agencies in his state earlier this month.


"A chief minister was forced to say, 'there were more ED sleuths than dogs on the prowl in the country.' What could be a bigger misfortune than this? The comment he made must have been after undergoing severe pain. Your agencies have become a political weapon; Modi ji, you do not understand, your countdown has begun," the Rajasthan CM said.

The seven Congress guarantees are:

Gruha Laxmi scheme to provide an annual honorarium of ₹10,000 to women heads of the family. Cheeranjeevi Aapda Bima that will provide ₹15 lakh each for families covered under the insurance scheme if they suffer losses due to natural calamity. The government already provides Cheeranjeevi Accident Insurance of ₹10 lakh and Cheeranjeevi Health Insurance of ₹25 lakh. With the latest scheme, nearly 80% of families will get a total cover of ₹50 lakh.

Free laptops to students studying in the first year of the government colleges in the state.

Godhan: The government will, as done in Chhattisgarh, purchase animal dung for ₹2 a kg from cattle owners to produce bio gas.

Free English medium education for students in Mahatma Gandhi English schools.

Subsidised gas cylinders at ₹500 each to more than one crore families in the state.

OPS: A law will be enacted to implement the old pension scheme.