The spar between the BJD and the BJP that began over Union Government's recent move to scrap the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) intensified on Friday as the former said such a step “harmed” the interests of lakhs of poor people in the State.
BJD national spokesperson Dr Sasmit Patra said Odisha’s 3.5 crore people were receiving 10 kg of rice since the introduction of the PMGKAY.
“While a beneficiary gets 5 kg rice under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), another 5 kg was given under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. Now that the Centre has discontinued the PMGKAY, a person who was getting 10 kg rice a month, will get only 5 kg of it. How can he or she survive with only 5 kg?” questioned Patra.
To drive his point home, he gave the example of a poor family of six members living in Balangir’s Tusra village.
“The 5 kg of rice the poor people of Odisha were receiving has been stopped by the Centre. A six-member family of Basant Dharua of Tusra area in Balangir district received 60 kg of rice a month. After the withdrawal of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, the family will now get 30 kg. Can you imagine the hardship for the family after taking away 30 kg from his quota? From now on, Dharua has to buy this rice with the money he would otherwise have to spend on medicine or something else,” said Patra.
In response to the allegation, BJP State general secretary Golak Mohapatra said, “Finally, Dr Sasmit Patra has accepted the truth. There is a saying in Odia that ‘Hanu Mala Belaku Sata Kahe’ (The monkey speaks the truth before its death). It seems the BJD’s end is near because Sasmit Patra accepted today that the Prime Minister had been providing rice and stopped it now. Previously, the BJD was claiming that it was providing rice to the poor. You (Patra) have to be thanked for accepting the truth that PM Narendra Modi was giving it and not your party.”
“The fact is that the price of 1 kg of rice provided under the Public Distribution System (PDS) was Rs 37.28. Of it, the Centre’s contribution and the Odisha Government’s contribution stood at Rs 34.28 and Rs 2, respectively. The beneficiary was buying the rice at 1 rupee only. Now, the Centre has decided to bear the entire cost of PDS rice. This decision has left the BJD in the lurch as it was showcasing the PDS rice scheme as its own and thereby reaping huge electoral benefits,” said Mohapatra, adding that from now onwards, people of Odisha would receive only Modi’s rice.
The Union Government spends nearly Rs 8,444 crore per annum to provide free rice to 3.25 crore of Odisha people under the NFSA. On the other hand, the State Government spends Rs 185 crore per annum as its matching share for implementation of the NFSA.