Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday took a jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi by questioning the honesty behind his party’s commitment to a Minimum Income Guarantee for every poor person, PTI reported.

Mayawati wondered if this new scheme was “fake” like the Congress’ earlier promises to eradicate poverty or Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vow to crack down on black money.

“Is this promise also a fake one like ‘Gareebi hatao’ [eradicate poverty] and current government’s promises on black money, Rs 15 lakh and achhe din?” Mayawati said, also referring to the Modi administration’s promises to deposit Rs 15 lakh in every citizen’s bank account and bring in “good days” for India. “Both the Congress and the BJP have failed, and proved to be two sides of the same coin,” ANI quoted Mayawati as saying.

Advertisement

On Monday, Gandhi announced that his party would ensure that every poor person in the country receives minimum income if it returns to power after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. It is yet unclear exactly what the Congress has in mind. The party has said that its manifesto will include full details about exactly how this income guarantee scheme will work and how the government would be expected to pay for it.

Earlier this month, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party announced that their parties would together contest the Lok Sabha elections in the state, without the Congress.