Cosying up further to the Congress after its split with the BJP, the Janata Dal (United) hailed the Centre for its “bold step” in providing food security to the people of the country.
Pledging his party’s support to the Bill and praising Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for speaking in the ‘language of the country’, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, however, expressed his apprehensions about the success of the scheme.
“Our experience has shown that the actual beneficiaries hardly get the benefit of a Government scheme. Corruption and middlemen act as irritant,” Yadav said. The former Union Minister also demanded that the Centre should bear the cost of the implementation of the Bill, as it was a national scheme.
He claimed Bihar alone, where his party is in power, would need roughly Rs 2,500 crore to improve PDS/godown facilities and ensure door-to-door delivery. “Where will the States get money from for the 50:50 rationalisation of cost to implement the computerisation of the system,” Yadav said.
The JD(U) leader also highlighted that the Bill was silent on the amount of commission that the PDS shops will get. He was equally concerned about procurement of grains and safeguards for farmers, around 3 lakh of whom have committed suicide in the last several years for different reasons. He suggested revising maximum support price (MSP) every three years.