Minimum pay guarantee plan to be main poll plank of Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi may make a special announcement on the election promise of “minimum income guarantee” for the poor as the party mulls ways of making its flagship welfare plank the focus of the last leg of 2019 election campaign.

The promise, which created an early buzz in the Lok Sabha campaign, would figure prominently in the Congress manifesto, most likely with details on its target audience and source of its funding.

But besides the manifesto, there is a strong likelihood that the Congress president could make the ‘minimum income guarantee’ the subject of a special public statement. It would be aimed at reiterating its salience from other populist commitments to the electorate as also to train the voters’ minds on the issue just before voting gets underway.

Sources said the party has planned to release the manifesto soon after Holi. If Rahul chooses to make a separate announcement on the income plank, it could even come ahead of the unveiling of manifesto.

After weeks of wavering Congress focus in the post-Pulwama phase, the party reverted to the populist idea in the CWC meeting held in Gujarat on March 12. Interestingly, newly-inducted AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra coined the acronym “NYAY” for “minimum income guarantee” in Hindi during the discussions of the apex body.

Importantly, contrary to earlier impression, sources said, Congress has worked out the basic details relating to the scheme — amount of income, target audience and source of funding.

Rahul’s first mention of “minimum income” at a Chhattisgarh rally on January 28 triggered a public debate on the issue, with many expressing skepticism if the government would have adequate budget to fund it.