Senior Assam Cong leader hails Rahul's minimum income scheme

Leader of the opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, on Tuesday welcomed Congress president Rahul Gandhi's announcement of the ambitious minimum income guarantee scheme, which aims to lift 25 crore people out of poverty.

The 'Nyuntam Aay Yojana' will ensure that poor families receive an allowance of Rs 72,000 per year, and it will benefit around five crore families and 25 crore people in all, Saikia said in a statement.

"The Narendra Modi government has hoodwinked people after making promises like depositing Rs 15 lakh in each person's bank account, reviving two sick paper mills of Assam, but Gandhi proved himself to be a man of words by waiving bank loans of farmers in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh immediately after it came to power in these states," he said.

The Congress was also instrumental in foiling the passage of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha, he added.