The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Partap Singh Bajwa on Wednesday cautioned the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government against its schemes to dismantle the old and smoothly functioning ration depot system in the state.
Citing a news report Bajwa said that the AAP government was planning to bring the ration depots (fair price shops) to an end. As per the news, the government has set to establish Markfed Smart Shops in the state with a Rs 670 crore budget with the sole purpose of giving undue advantages to the private players.
“This scheme of the AAP government would not only be costly for the common people but thousands of ration depot holders would gradually lose their source of income. Ever since the AAP got hold of power in the state, it has been scheming to discontinue the ration depot, which seems highly unfortunate”, Bajwa added.
Senior Congress Leader, Bajwa said that the anti-people stance of the AAP government can be gauged from the fact that it has already deleted 10.7 lakh blue cards of beneficiaries under the aata-dal scheme.
With this, the AAP government has denied foodgrains to around 40 lakh Punjabis belonging to the weaker sections of the society. “Notably, the AAP government has now all set to launch its pet project – aata delivery at doorsteps.
However, the government has no technical mechanism to ensure the quality of the aata (flour) that would be given to the beneficiaries.
Just to make its presence felt, the AAP leadership has been bent upon launching faulty schemes”, Bajwa added.