New Delhi
The BJP on Sunday claimed the Centre has forestalled a “big scam” that the Delhi’s AAP government might have committed by “diverting” subsidised foodgrains, as it hit back at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for targeting the central dispensation for stopping his scheme of doorstep delivery of ration.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Delhi government is free to run such a scheme by purchasing grains at a notified rate, but it has no right to tweak or stop a national programme of subsidised ration distribution under the Food Security Act to launch its own plan.
At a virtual press conference, Patra claimed there is zero Aadhaar card authentication in Delhi against the national average of 80% and the Kejriwal government had also earlier stopped the operation of POS machines, which allow biometric verification. It means there is no way one can find out if the foodgrains are being delivered to the needy or diverted, he alleged.
“We will never know to whom Arvind Kejriwal is giving ration to. He wanted to launch a ration diverting system. He wanted to start a big scam as the ration would not reach the right person and nobody knows where it might have gone... The Centre has prevented a big scam from taking place,” the BJP spokesperson alleged. The same grains might have been sold at a highly inflated price, he said.
In an online briefing, Kejriwal on Sunday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi why the scheme was stalled by the Centre and appealed to him to allow its implementation in the national interest.
Targeting the AAP dispensation, Patra said, “The A, B, C, D, E, F of Kejriwal’s functioning is 'advertisement, blame (Modi), (take) credit, drama, excuses and (consequent) failure'." Now Kejriwal claims his govt is preparing for the 3rd wave, but if he had prepared for the 2nd wave, the many deaths could have been prevented, Patra said.
Kejri: Implement doorstep ration scheme across India
New Delhi: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday asked PM Modi why the doorstep ration delivery scheme by his government was stalled by the Centre and appealed to him to allow its implementation in the national interest. He said the scheme should be implemented across the country in view of Covid-19 otherwise ration shops will act as “super-spreaders”. “If pizza, burgers, smartphones and clothes can be delivered at home, then why can’t ration be delivered at their doorstep,” Kejriwal asked. He alleged the Centre was fighting with everyone, including West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Maharashtra, Delhi and Jharkhand governments, farmers and the people of Lakhsadweep. “People are distressed that the central govt is fighting everyone. If we fight like this, how will we tackle Covid-19,” the CM said at an online briefing. “The Delhi govt legally did not require the Centre’s approval for the implementation of the scheme, but it sought permission 5 times to avoid any dispute.”
