Congress' poll assurances not just commitment, but guarantee, says Rahul in poll-bound Goa

Panaji: Kickstarting the Congress’s poll campaign in Goa, where Assembly elections are due early next year, party leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asserted that the assurances that his party gives in its election manifesto is not just a commitment but a “guarantee”. Addressing the members of the fishermen community in South Goa following his arrival in the state for his day-long visit, he also alleged that while the BJP indulges in hatred and divides people, the Congress spreads love and affection as it believes in uniting people and taking them forward. “I want to make very clear what is the difference between the BJP and the Congress is. The Congress believes in uniting India’s people and taking them forward. For us, every single Indian has the right to be given the space that he requires,” he said addressing the gathering. Congress’s response to the hatred spread by BJP is love and affection, he said. “So, wherever they spread anger hatred and division, we spread love and affection,” he added. “I am not here to waste your time or my time. Just as your time is important, my time is also important. The commitment that we will make to you in manifesto is not just a commitment but a guarantee,” he added. Talking about the assurances made by the Congress, he said, “My credibility is important to me. Unlike many other leaders, when I say something here, I will make sure it happens.” “If I come here I say to you that we will not allow coal hub and I don’t do it, next time I come here I will have no credibility,” he said in his address to the fishermen, who are opposing the project of double tracking of South Western Railway as they allege that it is an attempt to turn the state into a coal hub. Gandhi said that the party has fulfilled the commitments made to the farmers at Chhattisgarh on waiving their loan. “You can go to Punjab and Karnataka, we did the same (thing of keeping up the commitment),” he said. During his visit, Gandhi will be addressing party workers’ convention in the evening and will also meet those dependent on the mining industry.