Minimum income plan money will go to bank accounts of women, says Congress

The Congress has said that under the minimum income guarantee scheme promised by party president Rahul Gandhi, money will be directly credited to women of the beneficiary families.

The Congress on Tuesday sought to clear “confusion” over the minimum income guarantee scheme that party president Rahul Gandhi has promised to implement if voted to power in the Lok Sabha elections. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the minimum income guarantee scheme will directly benefit 20 per cent beneficiary families.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday promised that if the party is voted to power, it will implement a minimum income guarantee scheme for direct cash transfer into the bank accounts of 20 per cent of the poorest among poor families. (Photo: Twitter/INCIndia)

“There was some confusion yesterday. This is not a top-up scheme. All 20 per cent families will get ₹72,000 a year. I repeat, this is not a top-up scheme,” Surjewala told a specially convened press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi.

Gandhi on Monday announced that the Congress, if voted to power in the upcoming national elections, will implement the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) across the country. He said that the government led by the Congress party will determine an income of ₹12,000 as the line for demarcation of poverty for a family.

All the identified beneficiary families will get direct transfer of money into their accounts with a capping of ₹72,000 a year.

A day later, Surjewala clarified that the minimum guarantee scheme is “women centric”. He said, “The Congress party will get this amount credited to the bank accounts of the women of beneficiary families.”

“This scheme will be implemented without any discrimination between the urban and rural areas. It will be implemented across the country uniformly,” Surjewala said.

The announcement by Gandhi drew sharp criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Union minister Arun Jaitley called it a “bluff announcement” in his blog. Jaitley argued that the Narendra Modi government’s welfare benefits to people averaged ₹1,06,800 annually as against ₹72,000 promise made by Gandhi.