New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday promised that his party will give a guaranteed minimum income to the poor people if it forms a government in 2019. He made the promise at a rally in Chhattisgarh.

Addressing a rally in Atal Nagar, Chhattisgarh, Rahul Gandhi said, “After winning in 2019 we’ll take a step that no party has ever taken, we will ensure Minimum Universal Basic income for the poor. No government in the world has ever taken such a decision.”

“The Congress has decided to take a historic decision… The Congress-led government is going to give minimum income guarantee. This means, each poor person in India will have minimum income. This means there will be no hungry, poor people in India,” Gandhi said.

“Our government will do this in Chhattisgarh, in Madhya Pradesh, in Rajasthan, and in every state. We don’t want two Indias, we want only one India,” Gandhi added.

Congress leader P Chidambaram appreciated Rahul Gandhi’s announcement at the farmers’ rally in Chhattisgarh and said that it is historic and will mark a turning point in the lives of the poor.

The veteran leader said, The principle of Universal Basic Income (UBI) has been discussed extensively in the last two years. The time has come to adapt the principle to our situation and our needs and implement the same for the poor. We will explain our plan in the Congress Manifesto.

He added, 140 million people were lifted out of poverty between 2004 and 2014. Now we should make a determined effort to wipe out poverty in India. The poor of India have the first charge on the resources of the country. Congress will find the resources to implement the promise of Rahul Gandhi.

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