₹25 lakh health insurance to interest-free loan: Congress's 5 guarantees ahead of J&K polls

Kharge reiterated that the Congress will strive for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir while promising to restore a bi-cameral legislature in the UT.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday announced five major guarantees if the Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance came to power in Jammu and Kashmir. One of the key promises is a health insurance scheme providing coverage of ₹25 lakh to every family in Jammu and Kashmir.

Congresss president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Congress-NC government will give ₹3,000 monthly to the women heads of families. (HT File)

Speaking at a poll rally in Anantnag, Kharge also revisited a long-standing commitment from Congress, vowing to fulfil the promise of rehabilitating Kashmiri Pandit migrants.

"We will fulfil the promise of rehabilitating Kashmiri Pandit migrants made during Manmohan Singh's tenure," he said, reaffirming the alliance's intention to address the concerns of displaced communities.

Kharge promised a monthly benefit of ₹3,000 to women heads of families in Jammu and Kashmir, alongside an interest-free loan of ₹5 lakh to women.

Kharge read out the promises in the presence of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and other senior Congress leaders, including K C Venugopal and Subodh Kant.

Taking aim at the BJP, Kharge accused the party of failing to deliver on its promises.

"BJP gives a lot of speeches but there is a lot of difference between action and words...no matter how much BJP tries, Congress and NC's alliance won't weaken. We have shown our strength in the Parliament...We will

Kharge on BJP's employment promise

When asked about BJP's promise to employ 5 lakh youth in Jammu and Kashmir, Kharge said it was just a "jumla" or empty promises.

"They said the same thing about creating 2 crore jobs annually across the country, but 10 years have passed, and those jobs haven’t materialized," Kharge said.

He urged voters not to fall for what he described as BJP's "lies." "The BJP gives a lot of speeches, but there is a big difference between their words and actions. They promised 2 crore jobs, yet they couldn't even recruit 1 lakh people here. How will they now provide 5 lakh jobs?" he questioned, appealing to the people to support the Congress-NC alliance, which he said had always stood by the people since Independence.

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in three phases -- September 18, September 25 and October 1. The results will be announced on October 8.