‘NITI Aayog…A cheerleader of PM': Congress snubs think tank's report on poverty

The Congress MP termed the NITI Aayog report on multidimensional poverty “bogus” and called the think tank the “drum-beater” for the PM.

What is the NITI Aayog? It is the cheerleader of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday, discarding the public policy think tank's report that nearly 25 crore people were moved out of poverty in the last nine years.

Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh.(ANI)

The NITI Aayog and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly released a discussion paper on the multidimensional poverty index that attempts to study the rate of decline in the number of multidimensional poor populations in the country. Using the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (NMPI), the study found about 24.82 crore people in India moved out of poverty since 2013-14. The largest decline was reported in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

The report predicted India would achieve the target of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of halving multidimensional poverty before 2030. It further credited the government's “persistent dedication” and “resolute commitment” to enhancing the lives of the most vulnerable and deprived have been instrumental in this accomplishment.

The Congress shunned the report, terming it “bogus” and calling the NITI Aayog the “drum-beater” for the PM. “Nobody can believe the data released by the body. Every expert has criticised the report,” Ramesh said. He said a press conference will be arranged on the issue tomorrow to explain the party's statement further.

Earlier, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar took a jibe at the second instalment of the Rahul Gandhi-led foot march, Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, and referred to the NITI Aayog report to indicate who is doing “real justice”.

“The whole country knows about the atrocities they (Congress) were doing to the poor for the last 65 years. 25 crore people got to come out of poverty only after PM Modi came to power. So, the whole country knows who is doing justice and who is doing injustice. But, we don't have any problem if they want to call their Yatra 'Nyay Yatra',” he said.

The NITI Aayog was established in 2015, replacing the erstwhile Planning Commission, and came up with the ‘15-year road map’ model instead of the ‘5-year-plan’ used in governance earlier.