Rahul Gandhi, a former member of parliament for Wayanad, visited a Cafe Coffee Day on the Cunningham Road in Bengaluru on 8 May in an effort to motivate voters. Later, he chatted with female passengers on a Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus about the party’s campaign pledges, which included free transport on government-run buses, in advance of the 10 May Karnataka Assembly elections.
As soon as he left the coffee shop, he went to a BMTC bus station, where he ran across some college students and working women with whom he chatted. He then boarded a BMTC bus and spoke to the passengers on Congress’ promise to provide all women with free bus travel on BMTC and KSRTC buses.
He also informed them about the party’s Gruhalakshmi proposal, which would have provided women heads of households as cash award of 2000 rupees.
The women explained to him how their monthly finances were impacted by transport problems and pricing increases.
The Congress party promised in its manifesto to establish a body for the welfare of gig workers and to provide a minimum hourly salary for employees in the unorganised sector.
Earlier in the day Rahul Gandhi had accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being unconcerned about the violence in Manipur while addressing a rally in Anekal, a Bengaluru suburb. “The politics of hatred are to blame for the current fires in Manipur. We established the Bharat Jodo Yatra to combat this politics of hatred,” he remarked.
