While addressing a UDF election campaign meeting in Perumbavoor, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that he wants to see a woman become the Chief Minister of Kerala. Pointing out that there were a lot of women with talent and efficiency contesting in the upcoming Kerala polls, he however noted that reaching a day when a woman is seated as the Chief Minister in Kerala may take time and that he would continue to strive hard for it. Rahul who is in the poll-bound Kerala for campaigning during an interaction with students of St. Teresa's College in Kochi said women are more powerful than men.
“I will tell you a secret that men will never tell you, women are much more powerful than men. Women, they do not understand how their power works and where their power comes from. And that is the whole point of empowerment," said Rahul, who demonstrated some moves from the Japanese martial art Aikido, in which he has trained.
Rahul lashed out at the CPM over the PSC candidates’ strike. He said that the party should look at the development of the State and not ensure jobs for its party members alone.
“In the mind of the CM (Pinarayi Vijayan), those protesters are his enemies. It is like the Prime Minister calling the protesting farmers terrorists. Both the PM and the CM have the same mindset,” Rahul said.
The Congress leader also announced that United Democratic Front, if elected to power, will roll out the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (Nyay) scheme on a pilot basis in Kerala. The NYAY scheme, first mooted by Congress ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, has been listed as one of the key promises in the manifesto of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the state. “If a family gets ₹6,000 per month and ₹72,000 per annum, this will come to the market and revive the economy, which will increase production and create jobs. This is not a favour or charity but is the only way to revive the economy,” he said. He added: “We are testing this new idea in Kerala and I am confident about its success. If it works out in Kerala, it will be taken to the rest of the country. Kerala is going to show the rest of the country how to fight poverty once and for all. We take the advantage of the strength, dynamism, and intelligence of the people of Kerala,” he said, pointing to the success of the MGNREGS in reviving the rural economy.
Meanwhile, a lawyer's request to sue Rahul Gandhi for contempt has been denied by Attorney General KK Venugopal, who says his statements on the judiciary are "too vague" to lower the dignity of the institution in the eyes of people. The AG was responding to a petition filed by one Advocate Vineet Jindal who alleged that Rahul Gandhi scandalized the judiciary by commenting that "the ruling party in the Centre has inserted its people into judiciary" during a recent interview.
The Attorney General however, observed that Rahul's statements made a general reference to "judiciary" and contained no specific reference to the Supreme Court.
"The question of my granting consent would not arise. In any event, I am of the opinion that the statements in question are too vague to be said to have lowered the authority of the institution in the eyes of the public," the Attorney General said.