BJP says poverty eradicating, Rahul promises Minimum Income Guarantee to poor

New Delhi/Raipur, Jan 28: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday made statements on poverty.

While the Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has succeeded in reducing poverty to a great extent, Rahul made a poll promise that if the Congress returns to power then it would provide Minimum Income Guarantee to poor.

Javadekar told reporters in New Delhi that the Modi government is relentlessly working on the eradication of poverty in the country.

"India has succeeded in reducing poverty to a great extent and by 2030 we hope to eradicate it completely," he said.

Citing the World Data Lab statistics, the minister said, "The World Data Lab has said that in India extreme poverty is reducing at a very fast pace. In 2012 in rural India 14% people were under extreme poverty line but now it is only 4% which is a significant number. It means that 10% people got out of the extreme poverty limit. It's a big leap."

He further added that earlier there were 9.5% people below the extreme poverty line in the urban areas and now this percentage has reduced to only 3.5%.

"According to another survey, the number of those earning Rs. 135 per day or less has been reduced to now only 5 crore from 2011's figure of 26 crore. We will completely eradicate this number," Javadekar said.

The minister further said that according to Brookings report poverty has reduced significantly in India. Modi Govt's strategy has been very successful in this regard.

Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, Javadekar said whereas the Congress has eliminated poor people, the BJP government under Prime Minister Modi has been eradicating poverty.

This is the basic difference between the two parties, said Javadekar.

On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi made a poll promise of Minimum Income Guarantee to poor in Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur.

"If voted to power, the Congress-led government is going to give minimum income guarantee to each poor person in India. This means there will be no hungry, poor people in India," Gandhi said while addressing the 'Kisaan Abhaar Sammelan'.

The programme was organised to thank people of Chhattisgarh, especially farmers, for forming a Congress government in the state after a gap of 15 years.

Later, Rahul also tweeted: "We cannot build a new India while millions of our brothers & sisters suffer the scourge of poverty. If voted to power in 2019, the Congress is committed to a Minimum Income Guarantee for every poor person, to help eradicate poverty & hunger. This is our vision & our promise."

Elated with the formation of Congress governments in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan in the recently held assembly elections, Rahul is leaving no stone unturned to repeat the success story in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections scheduled in April-May this year.