NDTV: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Monday announced what promises to be the party’s big pitch in the coming general election — a guaranteed minimum income for the poor across the country, much like the system of social security in the US.
The Congress announcement comes as the government is reportedly considering a populist new scheme that would see cash transfer to farmers instead of subsidies as a sort of monthly income support. The idea also takes forward the MNREGA, the UPA government’s flagship rural employment guarantee scheme that ensured 100 days’ job to every person.
“The Congress has decided to take a historic decision… If voted to power in 2019, the Congress-led government is going to give minimum income guarantee,” Mr Gandhi said at a farmers’ rally in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur this evening.
“This means, each poor person in India will have minimum income. This means there will be no hungry, poor people in India,” added Mr Gandhi.
The idea of a universal basic income for the poor is gaining traction in wealthier countries such as Finland and France. But there have been questions on how the Congress proposes to fund it.
Diverting funds from subsidy programmes would provide enough funds, news agency Reuters reported Congress leaders as saying.