Priyanka Gandhi underscores benefit of minimum income guarantee to women

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said she's happy that women will receive Rs 72,000 per year directly into their bank accounts under the minimum income guarantee scheme announced by party chief Rahul Gandhi. "So happy that under the NYAY scheme, women will be the ones who receive the annual amount of Rs. 72,000 directly into their accounts. 'Empower a woman, empower a family'," Priyanka Gandhi has tweeted.

Earlier in the day, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewalasaid the Nyunatam Aay Yojana (Nyay) is not a "top-up scheme" and is a women-centric scheme whereby the money will go directly into the bank accounts of the woman member of a family.

Rahul Gandhi made the scheme public soon after it was given a go-ahead by the Congress Working Committee, that had met at the AICC headquarters to give final shape to the party's manifesto for the April-May parliamentary election, and asserted it will be the "final assault" on poverty.