Wasting food equivalent to stealing from poor: Rahul Gandhi slams govt over grains 'wastage'

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed the government over media reports that India lost Rs 406 crore worth grains due to damage during storage in state-run granaries in the last three years, saying "wasting food is equivalent to stealing from the poor".

In a post on Instagram, the former Congress chief shared a screen shot of a media report which stated that data cited in a parliamentary standing committee report has revealed that India lost Rs 406 crore worth of grains procured by the government due to damage during storage in state-run granaries in the past three years.

"Wasting food is equivalent to stealing from the poor," Gandhi said in his post, using the hashtag 'GOIwastes'.

In a report, the Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution stated that the government should ensure that food grains do not get damaged/spoiled by taking adequate scientific storage measures and fixing responsibilities on officials/officers for accrual of damaged food grains.