Final Roll Of The Dice Before Lok Sabha Polls? Rahul Gandhi Promises Rs 72,000 Annually For India’s Poor

Making a major announcement ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Congress president Rahul Gandhi announced that if his government comes to power post polls, it will provide Rs 72,000 per annum to the 20 per cent poorest families in India. Gandhi has named the scheme Nyaya.

If Congress comes to power, this scheme will be its way of repaying Indian voters, Gandhi said. With a smile on his face, Gandhi asked reporters why they looked shocked.

"Five crore families and 25 crore will directly benefit from the scheme. All modalities have been worked out and this is possible within our budget. We have studied fiscal implications of the scheme," he added.

The Congress chief also said that the amount will be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the poor. Congress's manifesto committee headed by former minister P Chidambaram has been working on finalising the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections for the past several months, reports India Today.

Calling it "the final assault on poverty" Gandhi ended his address saying, "This is a ground-breaking idea. I'm not interested in answering any more questions."

Rahul Gandhi was addressing the media in Delhi after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet.