Rice Politics: BJP says BJD no longer can showcase PDS rice scheme as its own and reap political benefits
By Nalini Sahu
Bhubaneswar, Jan. 6: The spar between Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that began over Union government’s recent move to scrap the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) intensified on Friday as the former said such a step “harmed” the interests of lakhs of poor people in the state.
BJD national spokesperson Dr Sasmit Patra said Odisha’s 3.5 crore people were receiving 10 kilograms of rice since the introduction of the PMGKAY.
“While a beneficiary gets five kg rice under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), another five kilograms of the said commodity was given under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. Now that the Centre has discontinued the PMGKAY, a person who was getting 10 kg rice a month, will now get only 5 kg of it. How can he or she survive with only five kg rice?” questioned the BJD spokesperson.
To drive his point home, Dr Patra gave the example of a poor family of six members living in Bolangir’s Tusra village.
“The five kilograms of rice the poor people of Odisha were receiving has been stopped by the Central government. A six-member family of Basant Dharua of Tusra area in Bolangir district received 60 kilograms of rice a month. After the withdrawal of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, the family will now get 30 kilograms of rice. Can you imagine the hardship befalling on the family after taking away 30 kilograms from his quota? From now onwards, Dharua has to buy this rice in the money he would otherwise have to spend on medicine or something else,” said Patra.
In response to the BJD spokesperson’s allegation, the BJP state general secretary Golak Mohapatra said, “Finally, Dr Sasmit Patra has accepted the truth.”
“There is a saying in Odia language that ‘Hanu Mala Belaku Sata Kahe (The monkey speaks the truth before its death). It seems the BJD’s end is near because Sasmit Patra accepted today that the Prime Minister had been providing rice and stopped it now. Previously, the BJD was claiming that it was providing rice to the poor. You (Sasmit) have to be thanked for accepting the truth that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was giving it and not your party,” said Mohapatra.
“The fact is that the price of one kilogram of rice provided under the Public Distribution System (PDS) was Rs 37.28. Of it, the Centre’s contribution and the Odisha government’s contributions stood at Rs 34.28 and Rs 2, respectively. The beneficiary was buying the rice at one rupee only. Now, the Centre has decided to bear the entire cost of PDS rice. This decision has left the BJD in the lurch as it was showcasing the PDS rice scheme as its own and thereby reaping huge electoral benefits,” said the BJP spokesperson.
He added that from now onwards the people of Odisha will receive only Modi’s rice.
The Union government spends nearly Rs 8,444 crore per annum to provide free rice to 3.25 crore of Odisha’s population under the NFSA. On the other hand, the state government spends only Rs 185 crore per annum as its matching share for implementation of the NFSA.
