Chandigarh: Punjab BJP’s working president Ashwani Sharma on Monday alleged that the state Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is acting like a “ration dacoit” and depriving over 8 lakh Punjabis of free ration.
Sharma’s allegations come amid the ongoing confrontation between the AAP leader and the BJP after chief minister Bhagwant Mann recently claimed that the Centre has asked the Punjab government to delete about 8 lakh ration cards under the Public Distribution System (PDS) as they did not fulfil the eligibility criteria – meaning that they had either government jobs or turnover of Rs 25 lakh or over 2.5 acre land etc.
Countering this, the BJP held that the Central Government has not removed anyone’s name from the public distribution system (PDS) beneficiaries’ lists, and that the Supreme Court has directed e-KYC verification for the ration cards, and that the Central Government is merely instructing states to comply with this order.
Sharma further held that despite seeking three extensions of time on the Supreme Court, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann has failed to complete the verification process, yet continues to blame the Centre.
CENTRE TRASHES MANN’S CLAIMS
Meanwhile, Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution, Pralhad Joshi has also rubbished Mann’s allegations that the Centre was deleting 55 lakh names from the Punjab’s ration rolls.
Terming the same as false and misleading, Joshi, in a video message shared on X, said that the mandatory eKYC process for ration beneficiaries was not initiated by the Centre but by the Supreme Court. Stating that the Centre has only issued the circulars to the states for compliance, he held that Punjab was given three extensions to complete the exercise, yet it had failed to complete the same.
He also accused the AAP government of negligence and corruption and alleged that while many eligible families in Punjab were deprived of the ration cards, food grains meant for the poor are sold in black.
