Raj Babbar regrets Rs 12 meal remark, Congress faces opposition heat - Times of India

NEW DELHI: Congress on Friday distanced itself from the remarks by two of its leaders that one could have meals at Rs 5 and Rs 12 which have been ridiculed by several parties. "We do not agree with Rs 12 & Rs 5 statement of some leaders," said Ajay Maken, Congress general secretary and in charge of communication department. Meanwhile, Congress leader Raj Babbar today said that he didn't intend to hurt party or anybody's sentiments. "If my statement has pained someone then I regret it," Babbar said. "I don't want my statement to harm my party in any way," Babbar said. Babbar had said that a hearty meal in Mumbai can be bought for Rs 12, while his party c olleague Masood had claimed that a mere Rs 5 was sufficient for a meal in Delhi. Maken, in a statement, 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?". The meal remarks made by Congress spokesperson Raj Babbar and another party leader Rasheed Masood were dubbed as "absurd", "foolish" and "illogical" by various parties putting the Congress on the defensive. "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% in 2004-5 to 21.9% ...a decline from 40.71 crore to 26.93 crore people below the poverty line. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGtIEGvftsStIo2mb-DO7BSAnlwVw&url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Raj-Babbar-regrets-Rs-12-meal-remark-Congress-faces-opposition-heat/articleshow/21368729.cms

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