Congress minimum income guarantee scheme: A day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi described the minimum income guarantee scheme as a ‘top-up’ plan, Randeep Surjewala contradicted his party chief on Tuesday. The Congress national spokesperson said the Nyunatam Aay Yojana (Nyay) will entitle poor family Rs 72,000 per annum. The different versions of the scheme by the Congress leaders gave the Bharatiya Janata Party ample ammunition to target them.
The BJP posted videos of press conferences of both Rahul Gandhi and Randeep Surjewala to target the Congress. Calling it a ‘volte-face’ by the Congress over the promise of minimum income guarantee, the saffron party said that the Congress is misleading the people of the country.
“Suppose your income is Rs 6,000 then the government would top-up it with Rs 6,000,” Rahul Gandhi can be heard saying in the video posted by the BJP on Twitter.
“I repeat it is not a top-up scheme. Each family would get Rs 72,000; 5 crore families, 25 crore people,” Surjewala is heard saying in the second sound byte.
Classic Congress style volte-face within 24 hours. They are misleading the people of this country and can never be trusted. pic.twitter.com/5haS5LYPhX
Speaking a press conference earlier today, Surjewala alleged that it was ‘shameful’ that ‘pro-rich’ PM Narenkdra Modi was opposing the world’s biggest anti-poverty scheme.
“The anti-poor DNA of suited-booted PM Modi and his incompetent Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stand exposed as they bitterly oppose the world’s biggest anti-poverty scheme,” Surjewala said.
The Congress leader also attacked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for dubbing the scheme as a ‘bluff announcement’, saying no other political party has ‘betrayed’ India for more than seven decades in the name of poverty.