TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has termed the Congress’s election promise to provide 25 crore poor people yearly financial assistance of Rs 72,000 a “bluff announcement”, noting that the sum is “less than two-thirds” of the existing Direct Benefit Transfer provided by the Narendra Modi government.
Jaitley’s remarks came hours after Congress President Rahul Gandhi announced that 20 per cent families belonging to the poorest category will be given Rs 72,000 each annually under the minimum income guarantee scheme if his party comes to power. The BJP leader took a swipe at the Congress through his Facebook blog post as well as a media briefing.
Taking into account the total amount of subsidies provided by the government, Jaitley claimed that Rs 5.34 lakh crore was already being distributed to the poor. “In addition to the above, Rs 5.34 lakh crore, there are several other schemes which provide several thousands of crores more to the poor. If the Congress party’s announcement is tested on simple arithmetic, Rs 72,000 for five crore families works out to be Rs 3.6 lakh crore, which is less than 2/3rd of what is being given – a bluff announcement,” Jaitley told media.
