Congress president Sonia Gandhi has called up a meeting of Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled States on July 13 to discuss the swift implementation of the recently promulgated Food Security Ordinance.
The meeting will also be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and 12 general secretaries of the party.
The Congress core group members — Defence Minister AK Antony, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Home
Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and Political Secretary of the Congress president Ahmad Patel — will also take part in the deliberations as the Ordinance and the Bill replacing it will come up for discussion and passage during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
Food Minister KV Thomas will explain the technical details of the Bill to senior leaders besides management of foodgrains and funds to ensure legal rights of subsidised foodgrains to 82 crore people at a cost of Rs 1.25 lakh crore.
Though all Congress-ruled States have welcomed the Ordinance with Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit claiming to implement it first in the National Capital, the meeting would deliberate on the practical aspects of implementation, sources said.
The Congress, which feels that the Food Security Ordinance will be a game-changer for the party in the coming Assembly and lok Sabha polls, wants the States to swiftly implement the scheme.