The General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee, a member of the National Congress Working Committee, and former Union Minister Kumari Selja said that the announcement by the BJP-led central government to provide free ration to the poor in Haryana has proven to be just a gimmick. The BJP-JJP alliance government has increased the scope to bring more people under the poverty line but has forgotten to improve facilities for these people. Due to the lack of coordination between the state and central governments, 42 lakh people in the state are not receiving ration today.
In a statement released to the media, Kumari Selja said that both engines of the BJP’s double-engine government in Haryana have failed. The Alliance government has completely failed to convey the concerns of the people in the state to the centre. This is why ration is not being sent to the needy families present in the state according to the statement. She said that more than 60% of the state’s population has come within the range of the poverty line. This includes nearly 1 crore 68 lakh people from 42 lakh families. In this situation, when people in the BPL category go to the depots to take ration, they do not get ration. After this, there are disputes with the depot operators. Meanwhile, depot operators clearly state that they have been receiving less ration for three months. Kumari Selja said that the announcement by the BJP government to give free wheat to every member of the family and not to provide sugar at subsidized rates is not according to the announcement. Meanwhile, due to the non-availability of mustard oil at subsidized rates, their problems have increased even more. The former Union Minister said that the BJP government is only a government of event management, which beats the drum for schemes being run for the poor but cannot implement them on the ground. In this situation, the brunt has to be borne by the poor families. These families go to the ration depot and demand ration but due to the shortage of quota, there are disputes every day. Selja said that all the claims made by the BJP government have become zero on the ground, and the ration distribution system has completely collapsed. In fact, as much as the BJP is proving detrimental to the people, it will be even more evident in the future.
