Hyderabad: Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday demanded that the state government immediately supply rice through public distribution system to the poor people on the occasion of Sankranti.
In a letter written to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), Sanjay said more than 3.5 crore people in Telangana were forced to starve during the Sankranti festival due to lack of supply of PDS rice for this month till now.
He stated that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre had extended supply of five kg of rice per head to all the ration card holders free of cost all through the year under National Food Security Act.
“In Telangana, as many as 55 lakh card holders covering a total of 1.92 crore people, would have to get 13 lakh tonnes of rice costing Rs 4,300 crore, with effect from January. This would save Rs 250 crore for the state government. Even if it supplies free rice to another 90 lakh beneficiaries, the state will still be left with a surplus revenue of Rs 80 crore,” he said.
Yet, Sanjay alleged, the state government had not yet released the rice quota to the poor beneficiaries due to its callous and irresponsible attitude. “This is unpardonable crime to force the people starve during the festive days,” he said.
The BJP president sought to know why the state government had not made arrangements for the supply of free rice to the beneficiaries till now. Even during the Coronavirus pandemic, the state government had stalled the free rice supply scheme under PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana scheme just because it would fetch good name to the Centre, he recalled.
“How far is it justified to deny rice to the poor people at a time when the state ministers and BRS leaders are accusing the Centre of making the people starve, quoting Global Hunger Index? It is unfortunate that the state government is seeing politics even in the free rice supply scheme,” Sanjay asked.
He also found fault with the BRS leaders for criticising the Central government decision to convert the rice procured by the FCI into fortified rice to ensure nutritious food to the students in government hostels and schools.
