Mumbai, Nov 6 (IANS) Sounding the bugle for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) announced its 5 Guarantees for various sections of society and bombarded the Bharatiya Janata Party-MahaYuti alliance government for its 'misrule and corruption', here on Wednesday.  The MVA allies Congress-Shiv Sena (UBT)-Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and others were present in full strength at a huge rally in the Bandra Kurla Complex and greeted the speakers with applause and cheers several times.

The main speakers were Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar and SS (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray, besides Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge. The MVA's 5 Guarantees are: Mahalaxmi Scheme of Rs 3,000 per month to all poor women plus free bus travel for all women and girls; loan waiver of up to Rs 3 lakh for all farmers and an incentive of Rs 50,000 for those who regularly repay their dues; Health Insurance up to Rs 25 lakh and free medicines; Rs 4,000 per month for the unemployed youth; and Caste Census and removing the 50 per cent ceiling on quotas.

Leading the charge, Rahul Gandhi said that the BJP has destroyed all important institutions by appointing RSS sympathisers irrespective of their qualifications or merits. "The poor in India pay the highest taxes while the industrialists are becoming richer. On account of the BJP’s policies, the MSME sector has been wiped out though it could have been the backbone of the Indian economy, and the people were hit badly with demonetisation and GST," Rahul Gandhi said. He reiterated the INDIA-MVA bloc to undertake a Caste Census and also smash the 50 per cent ceiling on reservations, and protect the Constitution "come what may, we shall not allow anybody to touch it" to save the poor of the country.

Rahul Gandhi said that all poor women will be entitled to Rs 3,000 per month and free travel in State Transport buses to offset the high prices of cooking gas, fuel prices and unemployment. In a broadside at the Centre, Pawar said that owing to the policies of the Centre, the farmers of the country are in great distress with their world in trouble. "The farmer-brothers, who provide us with food, are suffering due to the natural disasters and the crisis created by the rulers. Time has come to bury the rulers who do not protect the interests of the country's food-givers," urged Pawar.

To ease the burden of the tillers, the MVA will give a loan waiver of up to Rs 3 lakhs to all farmers plus an incentive of Rs 50,000 to those who are regularly paying up their dues, Pawar said. Thackeray said that after the MVA is voted to office, it would also freeze the prices of 5 essential commodities of daily consumption without affecting the interests of the farm brethren. He also vowed to stop the 'Gujarat-isation' of Mumbai and Maharashtra, provide free education to all boys, and protect the interests of all sections of the population. “We do not believe in making hollow promises but only those we can deliver. We will not allow the fishermen's colonies dotting Mumbai to be grabbed by builders under the guise of redevelopment, stop the corruption that is rampant in the current regime, and build temples dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in all districts in the state and elsewhere,” Thackeray said.

Kharge and other leaders also took a swipe at the MahaYuti government which was formed by ‘stealing’ the MLAs, names and symbols of other parties, referring to the undivided Shiv Sena founded by the late Balasaheb Thackeray and original NCP founded by Sharad Pawar. This was the maiden combined rally of the MVA and more such meetings are likely to be held in different parts of the state in the coming weeks ahead of the November 20 Assembly elections.

/IANS