Updated on Wednesday, April 09, 2008, 00:00 IST

Bangalore, April 09: Anxious to prevent spiralling price from marring its prospects in Karnataka assembly polls, Congress on Wednesday came out with a populist election manifesto promising rice at Rs two a kg, loans for farmers and others at three per cent interest besides free colour television sets.

Releasing "highlights" of the party manifesto for the May elections well before it is formally unveiled, senior party leaders here said 25 kgs of rice at Rs two per kg would be given to below poverty line families who would also get one colour television per house.

The leaders, who included former Chief Minister S M Krishna, said interest on loans (taken after it came to power) to farmers, women self-help groups, potters, handloom weavers, fishermen and shepherds would not exceed three per cent.

Houses for 15 lakh homeless families would be built in five years, besides, Yeshaswini health insurance scheme would be extended to all BPL families while all dues of Ashraya and Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) housing loans would be waived in three years, the manifesto said.

Unemployed youth who passed SSLC would get a stipend of Rs 1,200 for two years for undergoing skilled training programme.

"Congress central election manifesto committee has given its approval for these seven main programmes", manifesto committe chairman C K Jaffer Sharief and Karnataka Pradesh Congress committee president M Mallikarjuna Kharge told a news conference.

Krishna saw no problem in mustering resources for the initiatives. "Congress has the capacity to work out the resources", he said.

Bureau Report