Tea workers to get more wage than their demand if Cong comes to power: Rahul Gandhi

SIVASAGAR: In a bid to woo back the Congress’s old lover back on the occasion of Valentine’s Day, the grand old party today announced that the tea garden workers will be paid a daily wage of Rs 367 per day if it comes to power in the state.

Addressing a packed rally at Boarding Field here today, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said: “The tea workers are paid Rs 167 as wage in Assam. Does anything come for Rs 167? This is nothing but serving Gujarati interests … If we come to power, we will add Rs 200 more to what you get now to make it Rs 367 per day.”

The tea workers have been demanding Rs 351 wage per day and the ruling BJP government has assured to revise their wages by February 20.

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“Now, you will ask me where will the funds come from to add Rs 200? It’ll come from the Gujarati traders whom the Narendra Modi government has been selling assets of Assam one after another,” Gandhi said.

The former party president, however, refrained from making any statement on the tea workers’ other demand of Scheduled Tribe status to the community. The BJP had in 2016 promised ST status to the community along with five others in Assam, but never kept it.

The tea community in Assam had long been a dedicated vote bank of the Congress since Independence. It eventually switched loyalty to the BJP and the saffron party has been doling out all sorts of sops in the gardens ahead of the assembly polls.