After Raj Babbar's comment that a hearty meal in Mumbai can be bought for Rs 12,another Congress leader today claimed just Rs 5 was sufficient for it in Delhi, even as the party tried to wriggle out of the controversy saying the issue of poverty should not be trivialised.
"You can eat a meal in Delhi in Rs 5. I don't know about Mumbai. You can get a meal for Rs. 5 near Jama Masjid," Congress leader Rasheed Masood said today.
When asked whether he ever had a meal for Rs 5, he said he can have a meal for even less than Rs 5.
Babbar had yesterday said it was possible to have "full meal at Rs 12 in Mumbai" even today.
His remark came at the AICC briefing in response to a volley of questions as he tried to explain that poverty has come down even as prices have risen.
When asked about Masood's remarks, Union Minister Manish Tewari said the issue should not be trivialised.
"There is no need to trivialise everything. The question is about the report of the Planning Commission in which they have compared the decline in poverty in 2004 Vs 2012, NDA Vs UPA," he said.
Another Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi expressed similar sentiments saying the issue should not be trivialised by "mocking those living below or above poverty line."
"Nobody is suggesting it is a comforting situation. It is a travesty to say that Congress and the Planing Commission are suggesting otherwise," he said.
