Chandigarh, Aug 24 (PTI) Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Sunday asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to stop “misleading” the people of the state, saying the Central government has not cancelled any ration cards.
Jakhar’s remarks came a day after Mann claimed that the BJP-led Centre wanted to remove the names of more than eight lakh ration card holders in the state under the National Food Security Act, which his government will not allow.
Mann claimed the AAP government received a report from the Centre, suggesting the deletion of 8,02,493 ration card holders in Punjab as they were no longer eligible.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Jakhar accused the chief minister of creating confusion among the people of Punjab.
The Supreme Court has directed to conduct e-KYC verification of ration cards, and the Central government is merely instructing the states to comply with the top court’s order, Jakhar said.
Claiming that 1.41 crore people are receiving ration under the National Food Security Act in Punjab, Jakhar said the Centre has granted three extensions to the state for completing the e-KYC process.
Inclusion or exclusion of individuals from the list of ration card holders falls under the state government’s jurisdiction, in which the Centre has no role to play, Jakhar said.
“The Centre has only asked for a re-verification to ensure that no ineligible person is receiving ration and no eligible person is left out. If any eligible person is found excluded, he/she should be included,” he said.
Jakhar also assured that the 1.41 crore people currently receiving ration will continue to do so, as the Central government has not removed any name from the list.
The Centre has provided the necessary data to the state government to facilitate the e-KYC process, Jakhar said.
Following Mann’s allegations, the Centre also 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.
It also asked the state government 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.
The minister said 1.41 lakh crore poor people are entitled to receive foodgrain under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, and the Centre is allocating the same to all the beneficiaries. PTI CHS ARI
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