Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the party’s proposed minimum income guarantee scheme is meant be the “diesel for the engine” of the Indian economy, PTI reported. He was speaking at an election rally in Dholpur district in Rajasthan.
The scheme has been named the Nyuntam Aay Yojana, or NYAY. Under the proposed scheme, the Congress has promised that the poorest 20% families of the country will get an income support of Rs 72,000 per annum.
“I am not here to lie,” Gandhi said. “Our NYAY scheme will jumpstart the economy. It will be a diesel for the Indian economy. We will deposit Rs 3.6 lakh in five years in bank accounts of five crore women...After consultation with economists, P Chidambaram wrote a figure of Rs 72,000 on a paper and gave it to me,” Gandhi said.
The Congress president claimed that under the Modi government unemployment rose to a 45-year high and 22 lakh government jobs are now lying vacant. “We will fill the vacancy in one year after coming to power,” he promised.
Targetting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added that while Modi gives crores of rupees to top industrialists such as Anil Ambani and Mehul Choksi, the Congress party’s policies are designed to help the poor. “Through demonetisation, he took your money from your pockets and he rolled out Gabbar Singh Tax [in reference to the Goods and Services Tax] and took your remaining money as well,” ANI quoted Gandhi as saying.
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