New Delhi, Dec 9: Dubbing Congress as a party of “capitalists and middlemen”, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari today ridiculed the Planning Commission's Rs 32 per day poverty cap and asked the Prime Minister and Congress chief to “show the way” by living on the meagre amount for a day.
He accused the UPA Government of not focusing on issues related to 44 crore poor people in the country, especially labourers who have no shelter and food.
“I want to ask Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi what have they done for the poor. They keeping talking about uplift of under-privileged but nothing happens on the ground. The Planning Commission says that persons consuming items worth more than Rs 32 per day in urban areas are not poor,” he said.
He was addressing a rally organised by the Bharatiya Janata Mazdoor Mahasangh here demanding BPL status for all labourers in the country.
“Can anyone live with Rs 32 in a city and Rs 26 in rural areas? With the inflation increasing day by day, people are not able to eat even one meal a day. Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh should show the way how to live in that meagre amount,” he said.
Alleging that Congress was responsible for the 2G spectrum scam, he said: “It is not a party of poor, it is a party of capitalists and middlemen. They don't fight for the poor.”
Referring to Supreme Court's order on free distribution of foodgrains to the poor instead of allowing it to rot in godowns, he said a government which questions the court's direction cannot claim to fight for the rights of poor people.
After uproar over the BPL cap, the Planning Commission had said that a new methodology will be worked out to determine entitlements of beneficiaries under various schemes for poor.
Gadkari said there is no place for corrupt in the BJP and that people who “come to politics to earn money” can leave the party “today instead of tomorrow”.
The BJP demanded that all labourers in the country should be brought under the Below Poverty Line category and should be eligible for medical insurance.
“Government servants are eligible for medical insurance. IAS officers are eligible for medical insurance. MP and MLAs are also eligible. Why not the poor? Don't the poor have the right to get proper treatment?” he asked.
The BJP chief also alleged that ESI hospitals in most states are in a “bad condition” and they are not equipped to treat patients.
He also said if the BJP came back to power it will ensure that poor are taken care of in a better way and that their children get admission in professional courses.
