JOIN USAt a time when the UPA government is putting its machinery together to exploit political benefits from the food security programme it rolled out through an ordinance, BJP president Rajnath Singh picked up what he claims are fundamental problems that would defeat the purpose of providing cheap foodgrain to more than half of the country’s population.
The food security ordinance passed by the UPA government overlooking Parliament has fundamental inherent contradictions as it is only distribution-driven, said Rajnath Singh on Thursday.
Instead of having an unidirectional ordinance, the government should have brought a comprehensive piece of legislation having foresight on production, procurement and distribution of grains as any one missing aspect in the wheel would destabilise the whole programme, Singh elaborated.
The BJP chief, who was the agriculture minister in the NDA regime, reiterated the party stand that they are for ensuring food to deserving people but with amendments he suggested.
“If there is no adequate production, how the government will lift enough grains and if procurement and storage architecture is not well laid out, then from where they will give it at cheap prices to people?” he asked, pointing out issues that the ordinance failed to address.
The food ordinance provides for cheap foodgrain to 67 per cent of the population. It will offer wheat at Re 1 per kg, rice at Rs 2 per kg and millet at Rs 3 per kg to this section of the population. The beneficiaries will have to be identified by the states and the union territories in the next six months.
He once again highlighted the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh model of effective distribution through PDS system which has been appreciated by the Centre.
So far, the government has not come up with plans on how to increase yield and offer lucrative pricing as input costs have gone up by many folds due to the increased prices of urea and seeds and expensive labour. Instead, it is just focussed on providing cheap food, he argued.
He questioned the UPA government’s earlier decision of dismantling a food distribution scheme which was launched during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime.
“It is for these reasons that I say it is not a food security ordinance but a loot security ordinance and a political security ordinance,” Singh charged.