Sonia flags off food security scheme

 Despite Opposition party BJP stalling passage of the ambitious Food Security Bill in Parliament, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday launched the scheme in Delhi to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The government’s bid to get the Bill passed in the Lok Sabha failed and it could not be taken up for discussion with BJP MPs disrupting the proceedings over alleged irregularities in coal block allocations.

Handing foodgrain packets and Aadhar-based smart cards to a dozen beneficiaries, Sonia hailed the food security programme as an ‘unparalleled’ scheme in the world, under which access to minimum amount of foodgrains will be made a legal right of crores of people.

“The scheme will ensure that nobody remains hungry in the country. Giving food security on such a large scale is unparalleled in the world. Two-thirds of the nation’s 125 crore people will be provided foodgrains at very cheap rates,” Sonia said, addressing a gathering at Talkatora Stadium.

“Over 80 crore people across the country will get foodgrains at cheaper rates. While 75 per cent of the rural poor will be covered under the scheme, 50 per cent of the urban population will also benefit from it,” she said. The gathering included Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her cabinet members, party MPs, MLAs and workers.

Under the scheme, each member of a family will be entitled to 5 kg foodgrains a month at highly subsidised rates of Rs 1-3 a kg.

While smart cards for food entitlement were issued to 2,000 beneficiary families, 32 lakh people will be covered from September 1.