Congress asks Modi to resign for manipulating poverty figures

The Gujarat Congress demanded the resignation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi here today, for allegedly manipulating numbers related to the Below Poverty Line (BPL).

Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Arjun Modhwadia highlighted the difference in figures released by the state government.

"On one hand, Gujarat's food and civil supplies department says that there are 24.3 lakh BPL families in the state, while, on the other hand, the state's health department, under the Mukhyamantri Amrutam Yojana, in its advertisements put the families constituting the BPL category at 38 lakh," Modhwadia said, adding that the BJP should demand the resignation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the rise in the number of poor people, during his rule.

Gujarat's food and civil supplies department stated that those earning Rs 10.80 or below per day in rural areas and those earning Rs 16.70 or below per day in urban areas make up the BPL category.

A press statement issued by the Gujarat food and civil supplies department said that a person living in rural area with a monthly income of Rs 324 and a person living in urban area with a monthly income of Rs 501 would be included in the BPL category as this would benefit 24.3 lakh families and give them benefits under different schemes.

Reacting to a media report which claimed that the Gujarat government had come up with new criteria for identification of BPL families, the Food and Civil Supplies Secretary R P Gupta said that they had merely reiterated the guidelines issued by the Centre in 2004.