New Delhi (Agency): The Congress party escalated its criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, accusing him of depriving the state of Karnataka of food grains as political retribution for its electoral defeat in the assembly polls. The party labeled this move as a calculated “political decision” to penalize the people of Karnataka for rejecting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
On June 13, the Central Government halted the sale of staple grains like rice and wheat from its buffer reserves to state governments. This decision was officially justified by citing the inflationary pressures and concerns about monsoon. Nevertheless, the Congress party alleges that the intent was to sabotage the Karnataka government’s flagship ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme.
The Anna Bhagya scheme, a key campaign promise of the Congress, assures a monthly provision of 10 kg rice for every below poverty line (BPL) family in the state. The impact of the Central Government’s decision to withhold grain supplies could have significant implications for the scheme’s sustainability.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh expressed his criticisms via a tweet, implying that the Union Government prioritized rice for ethanol production over meeting the essential food security needs of the impoverished. Ramesh contended that despite Karnataka’s willingness to pay the Food Corporation of India (FCI) Rs 34 per kg to meet their food security requirements, the opportunity has been denied by the “brazenly vindictive” Modi Government. Simultaneously, the FCI continues to sell rice at Rs 20 per kg to ethanol producers.
Ramesh asserted that the Prime Minister’s decision was a deliberate attempt to create hurdles for states like Karnataka and would disproportionately impact the society’s marginalized sections. Ramesh confidently declared, “The Karnataka Government will fulfill its food security guarantee of Anna Bhagya 2.0 come what may!” He predicted that Modi’s vendetta politics would backfire.
Joining Karnataka in this plea, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, and Rajasthan have requested the Central Government to supply food grains for their state welfare schemes from the buffer stock under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS). The appeal was made during the national conference of state food ministers held in the national capital to deliberate on food and nutritional security and procurement of kharif crops.
Earlier this month, the Siddaramaiah-led government in Karnataka announced the rollout of the ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme, offering an increased monthly provision of 10 kg of food grains/rice per member of a BPL household and Antyodaya cardholders, up from the previous 5 kg allotment, effective July 1.
With input from Agencies