The Delhi unit of Congress on Wednesday demanded a probe into the allotment of ration cards in the capital city, claiming that the Aam Aadmi Party government has not issued new ration cards in the last 11 years.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, former Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister Haroon Yusuf claimed that when Congress left power in the city in 2013, there were nearly 35 lakh ration card holders. He said that this number has now dwindled to half, as the AAP government has not allotted a single new ration card since taking office.
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Yusuf added that under the Food Securities Act, passed during the UPA government, ration card holders were provided with food grains at subsidised rates. Besides, those without ration cards received Rs 600 per head and Rs 4,800 per family to purchase ration under the Annashree scheme.
However, the Delhi government has not registered a single beneficiary under this scheme. The number should have increased to 4 lakh, but it currently stands at only 90,000, for which the LG has already ordered a probe, he said.
Yusuf said that under the Food Security Act, any person eligible for a ration card is entitled to receive a food security allowance from the state government. However, the AAP government has not implemented this scheme.
“We urge the LG to order a probe into why the AAP government has not allotted ration cards to take action against the responsible minister,” Yusuf said.
AICC spokesperson Alok Sharma claimed that the ration supply is one of the biggest scams in Delhi, alleging that the AAP government is trying to take away subsidised food grains to benefit hoarders and black marketers, for which both the central and state governments are guilty.
