SAD urges Centre, Punjab govt to end politics over ration cards, ensure justice to beneficiaries

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has urged both the Union and Punjab governments to stop politicizing the issue of ration cards and to ensure justice for all eligible beneficiaries under the Atta Dal scheme. The party asserted that the scheme has effectively turned into an “Atta without Dal” scheme.

In a statement issued on Sunday, senior SAD leader and former Education Minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said whether it is the Union government halting supplies due to e-KYC updates, or the state government deleting ration cards on political grounds, the common people are always the sufferers.

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“Surprisingly, both governments are focusing on deleting existing cards, but none is considering the inclusion of the remaining eligible beneficiaries,” he remarked.

Dr Cheema pointed out that the quantity of wheat supplied has been drastically reduced. “The state government has stopped its own quota of wheat, earlier provided at Rs 2 per kg. At present, it is only distributing the wheat supplied free of cost by the Government of India under the National Food Security Act,” he added.

He described this as a grim reminder of how federalism is being undermined, with the Union government bypassing the state government and using party leaders as its mouthpieces.

Condemning the erosion of state autonomy under AAP, Dr Cheema said Punjab’s land pooling policy was not drafted in Chandigarh but by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s team in Delhi. “Leaders like Sisodia and others from Delhi interfere daily, and even political appointments in Punjab are cleared by Kejriwal’s team in Delhi,” he alleged.

Holding both the Centre and the AAP government equally responsible for the situation, Dr Cheema said, “One weakens Punjab from outside, while the other surrenders from within. Punjabis deserve policies rooted in Punjab’s soil, not dictated by Delhi durbars or central diktats.”