Sheila Dikshit was recently appointed as the Congress Delhi unit chief (File)

Congress's Delhi unit chief Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday praised party chief Rahul Gandhi for his announcement of a guaranteed income to the poor people of the country, saying it would change the lives of the masses. She also distinguished her party from the ruling BJP, saying unlike the Amit Shah-led outfit, the Congress delivers on the promises made.

"This is a historic announcement. It would change lives of the poor. Ours would be the first nation to have made such an announcement. Thousands and lakhs would be lifted above poverty line," Ms Dikshit said.

"We are not the BJP, we are the Congress. We deliver on what we say. We haven't ever made a promise on which we haven't delivered," the former Delhi chief minister, who was earlier this month chosen as the Delhi Congress chief, claimed.

The Congress president on Monday said that his party - if voted to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha election - will ensure a minimum income to the poor people of the country.

"The Congress has decided to take a historic decision... The Congress-led government is going to give minimum income guarantee. This means, each poor person in India will have minimum income. This means there will be no hungry, poor people in India," Mr Gandhi said at the farmers' rally in Chhattisgarh.

The Congress has been alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not fulfilled promises he made before the general election in 2014.

Rahul Gandhi last year said that PM Modi had betrayed the people of the country by not delivering on the promises.

"Modiji has betrayed the people on the issue of providing jobs to two crore people every year and depositing Rs. 15 lakh cash into their accounts by bringing (back) black money stashed abroad," Mr Gandhi had said.

In the run-up to assembly polls last year, the Congress had promised farmers that their loans will be waived if the party came to power. After winning the polls in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, the party waived loans within days of forming governments in the state.

With input from agencies