Hoshiarpur (Punjab), Aug 24 (PTI) Punjab minister Ravjot Singh accused the Centre on Sunday of “hatching a conspiracy” against the poor people of the state by cancelling the ration cards of nearly eight lakh families and depriving about 32 lakh beneficiaries of their basic rights.
Addressing a press conference here, Singh said since 2022, when the people of Punjab gave a historic electoral mandate to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bhagwant Mann-led government in the state has taken several pro-people decisions to safeguard the interests of farmers, labourers, the poor and the common man.
“In contrast, the BJP-led Centre has always adopted a discriminatory attitude towards Punjab. Whether it is farmers’ issues or other matters, the Centre is finding ways to target Punjab,” he said.
The minister claimed that the latest move of cancelling ration cards “exposes” the anti-poor mindset of the Union government since these cards are issued to families genuinely in need.
Highlighting Punjab’s contribution to the country, Singh said the state has always stood in the frontline during crises — be it wars or ensuring food security.
“Punjab produces 40 per cent of the country’s wheat and 26 per cent of its rice, yet the Centre continues to treat Punjab unfairly,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, the AAP alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Centre are “conspiring” to stop the free ration to “harass” the people of Punjab and its farmers. “But we will not tolerate this and will not allow even a single Punjabi’s name to be removed from the free ration list,” it said in a statement.
The ruling party in the state alleged that under the excuse of KYC, the Centre stopped ration for 23 lakh Punjabis in July.
Now, it is threatening to stop the ration of 32 lakh more people from September 30, it said.
This is outright injustice against Punjab and an attempt to harass the common people unnecessarily, it said, adding, “We will not tolerate this at any cost. As long as there is an Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, we will not let a single ration card be cancelled.” Chief Minister Mann claimed on Saturday that the Centre wants to remove the names of more than eight lakh ration card holders in the state under the National Food Security Act, while asserting that his government will not allow it.
Mann also questioned the criteria adopted by the Centre to suggest striking off the names of beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
The Centre asserted on Sunday that it has neither deleted the name of even a single beneficiary entitled under the food law in Punjab nor reduced the foodgrain quota, and asked the AAP government in the state to clean up the data to ensure that only the deserving poor get ration.
Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi outrightly rejected the allegations, saying the Punjab government is trying to spread lies. PTI COR CHS RC
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