Hyderabad: Congress president Rahul Gandhi kicked off his party’s election campaign in Telangana on Monday by promising that on coming to power the party will provide a pro-poor,pro-women and pro-farmer friendly government in the country and in Telangana.

Participating in an interaction with thousands of members of women self help groups from across the state he assured that the Congress will come to power in Telangana and resolve all the problems of women’s self help groups (SHGs) including the lack of bank loans and high interest burden.

After several women complained that since TRS came to power, SHGs were not getting bank loans and incentives for their work and even the pension scheme for the members of the group was removed, Rahul Gandhi said, “The difference between the earlier Congress government and the present Modi government at the centre and TRS government in Telangana was their attitude towards women. Congress thinks country cannot progress without participation of women in politics, economy and other spheres. But the current government in Delhi and Hyderabad thinks there is no need of women and their place was in their homes”.

When a participant Anita from Nizamabad mentioned the burden of GST on women’s groups there was a loud cheer from women. Reminding the women that it was ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ to loot the poor Rahul Saif that next Congress government will make it simple one rate tax and people will not have to file numerous forms.

“We will extend full help to the women SHGs”, he said. “We don’t make false promise like Modiji’s promise of Rs15 lakh (Rs1.5 million) in every account”, he said.

On Telangana he said there was one family rule in the state. “Only members of one family have benefited from this rule. Land was being snatched from farmers. There is no help to women no support to farmers and there is a rampant corruption”.

Recalling that UPA had introduced many pro-poor schemes such as rural employment guarantee and free medicine for the poor he promised that next Congress government will provide employment and security to women.

Charging the central government with complete failure in providing security to women he asked why Prime Minister was mum on the rape of little girls in Bihar.

The much awaited visit, first since Rahul took over as party president last year, was taking place at a time when there was a strong buzz in political circles that the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was planning to go for an early polls to the state assembly along with Lok Sabha and conveyed the same to the Prime Minister Narendar Modi and state governor ESL Narasimhan.

On Tuesday, Rahul will address separate meetings of students, unemployed youth, entrepreneurs and hold a teleconference with 31000 booth committees members from across Telangana.

Rahul Gandhi’s visit has already generated a lot of excitement in the Congress tank and file and also increased the political heat as his programmes have met a lot of resistance from the TRS government.

After the Osmania University authorities declining permission to Rahul addressing a meeting of students in the campus, allegedly at the behest of the ruling party, the police have also said no to a motor bike rally from Shamshabad Airport to the city in the grounds of security. The police authorities said that it was the Special protection Group officials who decided against any such rally as no vehicle could be allowed ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s vehicle. They also said that a large crowd of party workers were not allowed to gather at the airport to welcome Rahul as a security alert was sounded there ahead of Independence Day.

However senior Congress leader V Hanumanta Rao said this reflects the fear Rahul Gandhi’s visit has created in the hearts and mind of TRS leaders. Pointing out that the BJP workers and media were allowed at the airport at the time of the visit of BJP President Amit Shah he asked, “are there different rules for Rahul Gandhi and Amit Shah”.

An upbeat state Congress president Uttam Kumar Reddy said that Rahul Gandhi’s visit will ale the beginning of the end of TRS misrule.