The Congress has alleged that the Centre's move to stop the sale of rice and wheat to the states under the Open Market Sale Scheme is aimed at preventing the party's new government in Karnataka from fulfilling an election promise.
It has described the decision as another example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “anti-poor” and “vendetta” politics, and underlined that the Centre was still providing subsidised rice for the production of bioethanol.
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has through a recent order discontinued the sale of rice and wheat from the central pool to state governments under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS).
The development came after the Congress assumed power in Karnataka in May. One of the party's poll promises had been to provide 10kg free rice a month to every member of every below-poverty-line family under the Anna Bhagya guarantee. Chief minister Siddaramaiah has accused the Modi government of vindictiveness.
Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday tweeted: "Most recent chronology of Modi's anti-poor and vendetta politics: 1. May 13, 2023: Prime Minister & BJP rejected comprehensively by people of Karnataka. 2. June 2, 2023: Chief Minister of Karnataka announces implementation of Anna Bhagya guarantee from July 1 that will give 10kg free food grains to poor families 3. June 13, 2023: Union government issues circular banning sale of rice from FCI to states under Open Market Sale Scheme."
Ramesh added: “This is done to scuttle Anna Bhagya (guarantee). Karnataka was willing to pay FCI Rs 3400 per quintal. But that window was closed. But FCI continues to sell rice at Rs 2000 per quintal for ethanol production & blending of petrol. Food Security should be of paramount concern at all times.”
Piyush Goyal, who heads the food and public distribution ministry, said the FCI had refused to provide rice to several states from its stock to ensure that the price of the grain did not increase in the open market. He said the central government had received demands for rice from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and none of them got the grain.
While the FCI currently has a much higher quantity of rice than the required buffer stock, the Congress’s reference to the decision to sell rice at a cheaper rate to bioethanol manufacturers purports to counter the price rise logic.
Reports had suggested some time ago that the Centre had allocated 78,000 tonnes of rice, procured with the objective of ensuring food security, at a subsidised rate of Rs 20 a kg for ethanol production this year. Sugarcane and maize too have been provided for the same purpose.
The Congress has declared that the Anna Bhagya guarantee will be met, come what may. On Tuesday, the party staged protests at all district headquarters in Karnataka, accusing the Centre of a vindictive attitude. The state government said the Centre was deliberately creating hurdles to make sure that the Congress failed to deliver on the guarantees it had promised during the election campaign.
Siddaramaiah wondered whether the Modi government had any concern about the weaker sections of society. He said the state needed 2.28 lakh tonnes of rice to fulfil the poll promise, and that the FCI had agreed on June 12 to provide the required quantity before backtracking two days later.
Chhattisgarh has offered to sell 1.5 lakh tonnes of rice to Karnataka while Punjab has agreed to provide the needed stock. However, these states can’t sell rice at Rs 34 a kg that the FCI provided.
