Lok Sabha elections 2024: On the day of phase four of Lok Sabha elections, senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Monday made a special appeal to the women voters, with a focus on the 'Mahalakshmi' scheme, promised in the Congress manifesto.
"Women have made a huge contribution from the freedom struggle to the creation of modern India. However, today our women are facing a crisis amid severe inflation. To do justice to their hard work and penance, Congress has come up with a revolutionary step. Under Congress's 'Mahalakshmi' scheme, we will give Rs 1 lakh every year to a woman from a poor family," the former Congress president appealed in a 1.5-minute-long video message shared by the party on 'X'.
Gandhi said that the Congress' work has "changed" the lives of millions of families in Karnataka and Telangana, the two states where the party is currently in power.
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नमस्ते मेरी प्यारी बहनों ????????
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 13, 2024
स्वतंत्रता की लड़ाई से लेकर आधुनिक भारत बनाने में महिलाओं का बहुत बड़ा योगदान रहा है।
हालांकि आज हमारी महिलाएं भयंकर महंगाई के बीच संकट का सामना कर रही हैं।
उनकी मेहनत और तपस्या के साथ न्याय करने के लिए कांग्रेस एक क्रांतिकारी कदम लेकर आई है।… pic.twitter.com/Wk7JGt8x7r
"Be it MNREGA, Right to Information, Right to Education or Food Security... The Congress Party has empowered millions of Indians through our schemes. Mahalakshmi is the newest guarantee to take our work forward," she noted.
"I want to assure you that Congress is with you, and this hand will change your situation," she said further.
Sonia Gandhi's video appears on voting day
Gandhi's message, focussing on the women voters, came days after a massive row erupted over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'mangalsutra' remark during ongoing Lok Sabha poll campaigns.
Modi, during a campaign speech in Rajasthan in April, alleged that the Congress plans to give people's hard-earned money and valuables to "infiltrators" and "those who have more children" (alluding to Muslims) and would steal the "gold of mothers and sisters" if voted to power.
The remark had invited sharp criticism from the Congress and the other Opposition parties, which blamed the BJP for "misleading" the public on the Congress manifesto.
Kharge's response to PM Modi on 'mangalsutra' row
"They (BJP) are saying that we (Congress) will take away your wealth and give it away to the Muslims. This didn't even happen during the time of the Nizams. We are a democracy now and the Congress party will not let such a time come. If they also want to do this, then we will stop them. Congress will not take away anybody's Mangalsutra," Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge countered Modi.
Polling is taking place at 96 Lok Sabha seats on Monday, marking the fourth stage of the elections. With three more phases till June 1, the poll results will be declared on June 4.