PLANNING COMMISSION SAYS ₹32/DAY IS "NOT POOR"; RAHUL GANDHI CALLS POVERTY A "STATE OF MIND"
Congress Leaders Compete: Raj Babbar Claims Full Thali for ₹12; Rasheed Masood Says ₹5 is Enough
In July 2013, the Planning Commission headed by Montek Singh Ahluwalia released poverty benchmark figures claiming that anyone spending more than ₹32 a day in urban areas (and ₹26 a day in rural areas) was not poor.
As citizens expressed disbelief over the unrealistic figures, Congress leaders launched a blitz of absurd defenses. Spokesperson Raj Babbar asserted that "one can have a full stomach meal for ₹12 in Mumbai", while Congress MP Rasheed Masood claimed "₹5 is sufficient for a good lunch near Jama Masjid in Delhi".
Around the same time, Rahul Gandhi famously told an audience in Allahabad that "Poverty is just a state of mind. It does not mean the scarcity of food, money or material things."
📌 Key Figures & Decision Makers
- ▸ Rahul Gandhi
- ▸ Montek Singh Ahluwalia
- ▸ Raj Babbar
- ▸ Rasheed Masood
"Poverty is just a state of mind. It does not mean the scarcity of food, money or material things. If one possesses self-confidence, then one can overcome it."
- • Press Note on Poverty Estimates (Tendulkar Methodology) (Planning Commission of India, 2013)