The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday defended the Union government scrapping a doorstep ration delivery scheme of Delhi, saying the Centre had just prevented a “big scam” that the Arvind Kejriwal government might have committed. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Delhi government has no right to tweak or stop a national programme of subsidised ration distribution under the Food Security Act to launch its own plan.
"We will never know to whom Arvind Kejriwal is giving ration to. He wanted to launch a ration diverting system. He wanted to start a big scam as the ration would not reach the right person and nobody knows where it might have gone... The Centre has prevented a big scam from taking place," the BJP spokesperson alleged.
The Aam Admi Party on Saturday alleged that the Centre has scrapped the Delhi government’s flagship ration home delivery system, in a move that could trigger another face-off between the two sides. The Modi government stopped the scheme, saying Delhi had not taken prior permission for it.
Patra said while the Delhi CM has blamed the Modi government for stopping the doorstep delivery scheme, the truth is that over 72.78 lakh people are benefitting from the Food Security Act, Patra said.
Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojna, which provides for free ration to the poor in May and June, the Delhi government has so far lifted 53,045 MT of grains out of 72,782 MT sent by the Centre and has distributed only 68 per cent of what it has lifted, he said.
Earlier in the day, in an online press briefing, Chief Minister Kejriwal asked Modi why the scheme was stalled by the Centre and appealed to him to allow its implementation in the national interest.
The Arvind Kejriwal government notified the scheme on February 20 under the ‘Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna’ (MMGGRY) of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) of the National Food Security Act, 2013, and was to implement it from next week. The scheme was expected to benefit around 72 lakh people in the national capital.
In March, the Centre had asked the Delhi government not to implement the scheme, saying it is "not permissible" to use subsidised food grain allotted under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for a state scheme.
The central government had also raised a concern that the doorstep delivery of ration could result in ration card holders buying grains and other necessities at a higher rate than what is fixed under a central law.
With inputs from PTI
