Lucknow, January 29: With just months remaining for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, politicians have started making announcements, and on those, opposition parties are taking jibes. In a similar case, Bahujan Samaj Patry supreme Mayawati took a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Minimum Income Guarantee’ for poor if voted to power at the Centre. Mayawati asked Gandhi whether the latter would fulfil the promise or it would remain another ‘jumla’.

Comparing Gandhi’s promise of MIG with Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi, she said that both BJP and the Congress are two sides of the same coin. Speaking to the media, she said, as reported by the Indian Express, “Is this promise also a fake one like ‘Gareebi hatao’ and current government’s promises on black money, 15 lakh and acche din? Both Congress and BJP have failed, and proved to be two sides of the same coin.” Budget 2019: After Rahul Gandhi's Minimum Basic Income Promise, ex-CEA Arvind Subramanian Advises Modi Govt to Launch Scheme to Tackle Farm Crisis.

The above comment comes a day after Gandhi made the announcement during his interactions with the farmers in Raipur on Monday. Thanking the farmers for bringing Congress into power in the Chhattisgarh, Gandhi had said, “We cannot build a new India while millions of our brothers and sisters suffer the scourge of poverty. If voted to power in 2019, the Congress is committed to a Minimum Income Guarantee for every poor person, to help eradicate poverty and hunger. This is our vision and our promise.”

The relations between the Mayawati and Gandhi reached a saturation point after the BSP chief and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav cornered Congress in their alliance for the Lok Sabha elections. Both the BSP and SP would contest on 38 seats each, while leaving two seats for the Congress. Miffed with the change in the alliance, Rahul waited for a week and announced that Congress would contest in all 80 seats in the state. He also inducted Priyanka Gandhi as general secretary for Congress and gave her the charge of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, while Jyotiraditya Scindia was given the charge of Western UP.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 29, 2019 05:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).