People will "slowly" get Rs 15 lakh: Union minister Athawale

Union minister Ramdas Athawale has said people will get Rs 15 lakh "slowly" into their bank accounts and not in one go.

Athawale said assurances were made earlier but there were "technical difficulties".

The government does not have so much money and it has sought funds from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), but it is not obliging, he told reporters at Islampur in Sangli district on Monday.

"Rs 15 lakh will not come at a time...it will come slowly... government does not have so much money and it has sought money from the Reserve Bank but it is not giving...yes, an assurance was made but there are still technical difficulties," he said.

The Minister of State for Social Justice was replying to a question on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise to bring back black money stashed in foreign banks.

Modi, during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, had prominently highlighted the issue of black money and promised to bring it back.

Termed Modi as an "active" prime minister, Athawale said the BJP-led NDA will win the 2019 elections and Modi would again become the PM.

Athawale's Republican Party of India (Athawale) is an an ally of the BJP.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had earlier said the prime minister betrayed the people, claiming that he had not fulfilled promises of providing two crore jobs every year and "depositing" Rs 15 lakh in their bank accounts.