Siddaramaiah defends BPL ration card cancellation, says only ineligible beneficiaries affected

NT Correspondent

New Delhi

In a strong defence of the Karnataka government's move to cancel ration cards, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday clarified that only government employees and income tax payers are being weeded out from the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list, not eligible poor beneficiaries. Talking to reporters, Siddaramaiah asserted that the cancellation is in line with the National Food Security Act, which explicitly bars government employees and income tax payers from receiving BPL ration cards. He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of raising a politically motivated issue despite originally opposing the food security legislation. "The rights of eligible ration card holders will be fully protected," the chief minister emphasised, dismissing opposition claims that the move was linked to fund constraints for implementing poll promises.

The controversy stems from the Karnataka government's recent survey identifying 22.63 lakh BPL card-holders as ineligible. This move has triggered a political slugfest between the ruling Congress and the BJP. Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi claimed the central government had directed the state to clean the beneficiary lists. He alleged that the card cancellation was a strategy to avoid implementing the state's Gruha Lakshmi Yojana scheme. Siddaramaiah hit back, reminding that the food security law was introduced during the Manmohan Singh government in 2013 to protect poor citizens' interests. He criticised the BJP for previously reducing food grain allocation from seven kg to five kg per beneficiary during B S Yediyurappa's tenure.

The chief minister categorically stated that there would be no compromise on the five poll guarantees and that sufficient funds were available for their implementation. Siddaramaiah was in the national capital for the launch of Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd's Nandini brands in Delhi. He also met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the issue of farm loan.