Milind Deora, who recently edged out

to take over as Congress's Mumbai president, in an exclusive interview with Times Now has said that the party intends not to add to taxpayers' burden, but to reduce it.

Speaking on the show Frankly Speaking with Navika Kumar, Deora said the "mood of the country is anti-incumbency" and that "BJP has failed on key issues". Laying out the roadmap of Congress chief

's most ambitious social scheme

, Deora said, "It could become an overarching scheme by the government. Today, if I want to support a person who is unemployed, we can use this scheme instead of many other schemes which are inefficient and not working despite technological innovations like Aadhar and e-governance; and in doing so, you might even eliminate wastage. You might even reduce the burden on taxpayers rather than imposing a surcharge on them."

Asked about the narrative of nationalism and the

matter being amplified by Congress, Deora said the party's attack has been focused on "NDA's inconsistent Pak policy" and their inability to control the foreign policy narrative. Deora defended the Congress manifesto seeking to regulate the media, rejecting claims that Congress was trying to muzzle it. He said, "It's imperative for media to maintain fairness and quality."