Free rice scheme may not be rolled out on July 1: Karnataka Minister
Karnataka food and supplies minister KH Muniyappa on Thursday hinted at a slight delay in the implementation of the state government’s ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme as the state is yet to procure rice. He said the scheme might not be implemented on July 1, but assured that the rice would be provided to the poor before August 1.
“There will be a delay as we are yet to get rice, July 1 might not be possible, but we will give rice before August 1,” Muniyappa said.
The minister who was in Delhi till June 22 in the morning alleged that the Union ministers did not give him time.
“Yesterday (Wednesday) , I sought an appointment with Union minister Piyush Goyal in Delhi requesting him to provide rice to the state, but he did not meet me. Union minister of state Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said she would meet me this morning at 10 am but later cancelled the appointment saying she is not in town. This shows that the Centre is doing politics and does not want our scheme to be successful,” the minister said.
Giving an update on the offer from Punjab to provide rice, he said that the government is rethinking the offer since the transportation cost is high. The Karnataka unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has stated that Punjab is ready to assist in resolving the rice shortage issue, following which the state dispatched a team to Punjab to study the proposal.
“After FCI (Food Corporation of India) denied us the rice, we are in touch with NPAAAD (Network of Protected Areas for Agriculture and Agro-Industrial Development), NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation Of India) and other organisations to procure it,” he said.
“Chhattisgarh has agreed to give 150,000 tonnes, and Punjab has also agreed to provide (XXXX DO WE KNOW THE QUANTITY? NOT YET), but the transportation cost will be more and hence we are thinking. A final decision on the price will be taken by the end of this week,” Muniyappa added.
The issue of rice procurement from the FCI was raised by Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah during his meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah at the latter’s residence in Delhi on Wednesday night. The Congress leaders have accused the BJP-led central government of intentionally obstructing the provision of rice to the state’s Below Poverty Line (BPL) cardholders under the ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah who met Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday night at the latter’s residence in Delhi, on Thursday said that he has conveyed the concern of the state government with regard to the rice issue to the Union home minister.
“I met Amit Shah and brought to his notice about FCI, who earlier agreed to provide rice to the state, only to be denied a day later. I told him that prima facie it looks like politics and conveyed that let’s not indulge in hate politics as this rice is meant to be provided to the poor. He has told me that he would speak with the respective minister,” Siddaramaiah said.
In response, former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, speaking from Davanagere, demanded the immediate implementation of all five schemes promised by Siddaramaiah before the session. He threatened to organize protests both inside and outside the legislative house if their promises were not fulfilled, asserting that Congress should relinquish power if they failed to deliver on their commitments.
“Purposefully, attempts are being made by Siddaramaiah (CM) and Shivakumar (DyCM) to point fingers at the Centre with regard to rice. The central government is already giving 5 kgs of rice for free. If they want to give additional quantities of rice, the state government should purchase rice to make arrangements for its supply, but instead, they are making false promises,” Yediyurappa said.
Speaking to reporters in Davangere, he said, the Congress had given five poll promises, among them only the free bus service scheme for women has been launched and it is operational, amid a lot of hindrances.
“If the other four guarantees are not implemented before the assembly session begins, it will be inevitable for us to stage ‘Satyagraha’ inside and outside the House (assembly). I’m also ready to stage a ‘dharna’ (demonstration) in front of Vidhan Soúdha. So immediately they (Congress) should fulfil their poll guarantees,” he added.
