Free Rice Scheme: Cong Delivers Resounding Retort to Modi Govt

In a stinging rebuke to the Modi government, the Congress party has accused it of engaging in "petty and vindictive" politics regarding food security, specifically targeting the Karnataka Congress' commitment to providing free rice to the impoverished.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh emphasized that the Congress-led government in Karnataka remains resolute in its determination to fulfill its guarantee, announcing the launch of a new scheme aimed at transferring INR 170 per month to each of the state's 4.42 crore individuals covered by ration cards.

Ramesh explained that the cash transfer initiative was designed to compensate for the amount the state government would have paid to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) had the Modi government not intervened abruptly, obstructing the sale of rice despite ample buffer stocks being available. "The cash transfer scheme launched today by the Congress government in Karnataka is a befitting reply to the Modi government's vindictive policies regarding food security for the poor, especially in a state where the BJP was comprehensively rejected," asserted Ramesh in a statement.

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Highlighting the contentious sequence of events, Ramesh revealed that the Congress government in Karnataka had initially secured FCI's agreement to supply additional rice needed for their initiative, with the state government agreeing to pay INR 34 per kilogram. However, the Modi government rescinded their approval the very next day while allowing FCI to continue selling rice at INR 20 per kilogram to ethanol producers, Ramesh alleged.

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"The Modi government has played petty and vindictive politics on food security for the poor in Karnataka. It tried to sabotage the @INCKarnataka's Anna Bhagya guarantee. But beginning today, the state government has given a befitting reply even as it continues in its efforts to obtain additional rice," Ramesh expressed. He further criticized the Modi government for preventing the Karnataka government from purchasing rice from FCI and subsequently mandating an e-auction of rice to private traders, barring Karnataka from participating.

However, Ramesh revealed that the e-auction had proven to be a "miserable flop," with over 99.9% of the rice offered remaining unsold. "In any case, it is clear that the Modi government has greater faith in private traders to control inflation than in state governments and the public distribution system," he added, highlighting the government's preference for private entities over state-led efforts.

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