Have started preparations for minimum income guarantee to poor: Ashok Gehlot

Welcoming Congress president Rahul Gandhi's announcement of minimum income guarantee to poor, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Tuesday said he has already started preparations about the scheme.

Gehlot said that the country is capable of providing such a guarantee to its citizens.

"This is a historic announcement. I have started preparations from today that how this scheme can be implemented, how this should be implemented and what model should be there for the implementation," Gehlot told reporters here.

He said that the governments formed by the Congress in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are fulfilling the promises made by Gandhi ahead of the state polls.

"Whatever promises he made during assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, we are fulfilling them, be it farm loan waiver or allowance to unemployed youths. The announcement of minimum income by Gandhi is historic," he said.

"Everything is possible if a government has willpower," he added.

Gandhi Monday promised his party would ensure minimum income guarantee for every poor person if it comes to power at the Centre, echoing the 'Garibi Hatao' ('Remove Poverty') slogan coined by his grandmother Indira Gandhi during the 1971 general elections that she won.