Now Cong: BPL figures do raise a question mark

There were more objections from within the party. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy,who is on a visit to New Delhi,too raised the red flag,saying the BPL cutoff prescribed by the plan panel was not acceptable.

Asked about the Planning Commissions submission in the Supreme Court that the BPL category should include only those who spend up to Rs 32 in urban areas and Rs 26 in rural areas,the Chief Minister told reporters: I dont agree. In the present economic situation,what can a person do with Rs 20? I cant agree with it.

This came a day after Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh picked holes in the plan panels definition of poverty.

In this context,Tewari underlined that Ramesh had raised certain objections and expressed hope that the issue will be looked into in detail by the concerned stakeholders,given that the Rural Development Ministry relies on BPL figures to provide some welfare entitlements.

In a provisional figure,the Planning Commission has pegged poverty lines at Rs 965 per capita per month in urban areas and Rs 781 per capita per month in rural areas. For a family of five members,this provisional poverty line would would amount to Rs 4,824 per month in urban areas and Rs 3,905 per month in rural areas at June 2011 price level.

Activists and the opposition have come down heavily against the government over the figures. This led Ramesh to write to the plan panel to convey his reservations.