Bengaluru: The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka has decided to give beneficiaries cash instead of rice grains to fulfil its ‘guarantee’ of 10 kg rice to BPL households free of cost after it failed to secure a sustainable source of supply to keep up its pre-poll promise.
In the cabinet meeting Wednesday, the month-old government decided that since it was unable to procure enough rice grains, it will instead give cash to all beneficiaries until it can secure a stable supply of rice grains.
“Since we have not managed to get rice which we said we will start to give out by 1 July, we want to live up to our word and give cash instead. We will give Rs 34 (per kg), which will be directly debited into their (beneficiary) account. It can be one, two or three months. Till we are able to secure rice, we will give cash,” Siddaramaiah told reporters in Bengaluru.
The state government has decided to pay Rs 170 (Rs 34 x 5) per head per below-poverty line (BPL) household under its ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme until it can manage to secure a steady supply of rice grains.
Siddaramaiah also said Wednesday that the Karnataka government has decided to float an open market tender to procure rice grains for which formalities will be initiated in a day or two. No state has enough rice to maintain a continuous supply, he said, adding that the government has also reached out to national food grain agencies in a bid to secure the supply.
In the run-up to the assembly elections, the Congress party had promised 10 kg rice free of cost to all BPL and Antyodaya card holders if it came to power in Karnataka. In addition to this, Antodaya Ann Yojna (AAY) & Primary Household (PHH) beneficiaries are eligible to receive five kg of rice free of cost under the central government’s Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
The promise of free rice grains was part of the Congress party’s five ‘guarantees’ to voters in Karnataka, which included free public rides for women, up to 200 units of free power, Rs 2,000 per woman for the head of the household and financial assistance for unemployed youth.
On 13 June, the chief minister had told reporters in Bengaluru that the central government threw a spanner in the works by ‘forcing’ the Food Corporation of India (FCI) not to sell to the state.
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After he announced that the government would implement the ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme from 1 July, Siddaramaiah said that the state government reached out to FCI on 9 June seeking to procure 2.28 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of rice grains — to which the FCI responded on 12 June by agreeing to supply around 2.22 lakh MT to the state of Karnataka.
However, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution on 13 June halted the sale of wheat and rice to states from FCI stocks. The FCI in a statement on 23 June, said it had been directed to “conduct e-auctions of wheat and rice to check inflationary trends in retail prices”.
The move elicited a sharp response from CM Siddaramaiah, who called the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “anti-poor” and the ministry’s directive to the FCI a “political decision” aimed at scuttling the Congress’s welfare scheme.
Since then, the BJP and Congress have spared no opportunity to attack each other over the issue as the two national parties continue to trade charges since power changed hands between them in Karnataka.
The Congress has decided to probe all allegations of corruption against state BJP leaders, review all policies and even reopen cases against its principal Opposition party, adding to the tense political exchanges.
On its part, the BJP has been criticising the Congress for failing to fulfill its ‘guarantees’ to voters. “They (Congress) promised 10 kg rice. The Government of India is giving 5 kg of rice and they are giving only 5 kg more. They said they would give 10 kg and not five plus five,” former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters in Bengaluru Wednesday.
He added that the cost of rice is “Rs 50-60 per kg in the market” and what will the people do if the government gives them Rs 34 per kg instead? “It would translate to just giving 2.5 kg additional grains. First they (Congress) said 10 kg, then they said 5 kg and now it translates to just 2.5 kg,” he said.
Bommai also asked the government if people could “eat money” since the Congress had said that it would arrange rice for its ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme.
ThePrint reported earlier that Karnataka will require 2.28 MT of rice per month to give all beneficiaries the additional 5 kg of rice as promised. The ‘Anna Bhagya’ guarantee alone would cost the state over Rs 10,000 crore. When combined with all the other assurances put together, the ‘guarantees’ could cost the exchequer around Rs 60,000 crore.
Interestingly, the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab had offered to sell rice grains to the Karnataka government on 19 June but the latter chose not to pursue this offer. The olive branch extended by the AAP had even fuelled speculation of a possible coalition between the two parties ahead of the general election next year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek a third consecutive term in office.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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