Congress distances itself from cheap meal claims by Raj Babbar, Rasheed Masood

New Delhi, Jul 26:Amid the slugfest over poverty level estimates, Congress today distanced itself from controversial remarks made by party leaders Raj Babbar and Rasheed Masood on meals being available for Rs 12 and Rs 5.“The party has disapproved of the Rs 12 and Rs 5 remarks,” a senior party functionary speaking on the condition of anonymity said.Downplaying the controversy surrounding BPL figures and Planning Commission report about reduction in poverty levels, the functionary said, “It should be kept in mind that after promulgation of the food ordinance, out of about 150 centrally sponsored schemes, now only one scheme of old age pension is linked to the below poverty line categorisation.“Even that one scheme will be delinked from BPL by next year,” the functionary said.“Many centrally sponsored schemes, such as NREGA, ICDS, MDM, NRHM, SSA are universal whereas others such as IAY use a more complex formula....thus fixing of consumption at Rs 27 and Rs 33 for rural and urban areas have no bearing on government schemes,” the Congress leader said.He also attacked BJP for fuelling a controversy over the lower consumption limit and reminded that during the BJP led NDA regime in 2003, as per the NSSO's 59th round survey, the minimum consumption for poverty line in rural areas was Rs 16.73 only.At that time BJP was in power, hence BJP has no moral authority to question the UPA government on this issue, the source said.While Congress spokesperson Babbar had commented that a hearty meal in Mumbai can be bought for Rs 12, party leader Masood had claimed just Rs 5 was sufficient for a meal in Delhi. Meanwhile, BJP leader Vijay Goel has sent money orders of Rs 33 to both Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi challenging them to cover their daily meal expenses with this meagre amount. In Patna, slamming the government's poverty fixation criteria as a “cruel joke” on the poor, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said poverty should not be measured in terms of calories and money but on the basis of right to live with dignity.“We do not agree with the criteria fixed for poverty...poverty should not be decided in terms of calories and money to purchase food but on the basis of the right to live respectfully,” Kumar told reporters in Assembly premises.The senior JD(U) leader termed as “cruel joke” the latest poverty figures that put anyone earning more than Rs 32 a day in urban areas and Rs 27 per day in rural areas above poverty line.On Congress leader Rashid Masood's assertion that one can have food in Jama Masjid area in Rs 5 and Raj Babbar saying one can have proper meal for Rs 12 in Mumbai, Kumar said these are “hilarious” examples.“In Delhi, people get free food in langar (community kitchens) in gurudwaras and there is no need to spend any money on food there. Can we say food is served free,” he said.The Bihar chief minister disagreed with the estimate that the number of people living below the poverty line has shrunk to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12 from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05.”In Bihar, the number of poor is much more than this estimate,” he said.Kumar said his government had organised an international meet on poverty here in 2008 which had issued a ‘Patna declaration' emphasising right to live with dignity should be the criteria for estimation of poor.A copy of the declaration was sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also, he said. Meanwhile, Congress spokesman Raj Babbar has expressed regret for his remarks that one can have hearty meal in Rs 12 in Mumbai and his party today pleaded that the matter should now be allowed to rest.Babbar's regret came after the Congress distanced itself from his remarks as also those of another party colleague Rashid Masood that meals could be had for Rs 5 in Delhi.”He (Babbar) has issued a categoric statement expressing regret. So we should leave the matter there,” Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury told a press conference here. While seeking to downplay the issue, she said she was not aware in what context Babbar had made the remarks.To repeated questions on the matter, she replied that she had no authority to condemn or otherwise Babbar's statement.But she referred to the statement issued by Congress' Communication Department in-charge Ajay Maken who said, “We do not agree with Rs 12 & Rs 5 statement of some leaders.”The meal remarks made by Babbar earned widespread ridicule with parties dubbing these as “absurd”, “foolish” and ”illogical”.Maken, at the same time, attacked BJP for criticizing the Rs 33.30 Poverty Line figures of the Planning Commission, saying the opposition party, “should explain why it was Rs 16.73 in 59th NSSO survey of 2003 and accepted by BJP/NDA Govt?”.”Unlike the BJP NDA, we have de-linked this poverty line from all 150 Central Govt schemes including NREGA, ICDS, MDM, NRHM, SSA, PDS except 1.”NSSO survey-1993-94 to 2004-05 the avg. decline in poverty was 0.74%/year. During UPA it accelerated three times to 2.18% pts per year,” Maken said on twitter.He instead claimed that during Congress-led UPA, poverty has declined from 37.2 per cent in 2004-5 to 21.9 per cent...a decline from 40.71 crore to 26.93 crore people below the poverty line.