In the ongoing propaganda blitzkrieg for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the ruling Samajwadi Party seems a step ahead of the BJP, which is riding on achievements of the Modi government
In the ongoing propaganda blitzkrieg for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the ruling Samajwadi Party seems a step ahead of the BJP, which is riding on achievements of the Modi government. Even while it has been the Narendra Modi government, which rolled out the National Food Security Act across the country, the ruling SP has apparently owned up the food subsidy dole out by re-packaging and making it free in the Bundelkhand region.
Incidentally, Bundelkhand had voted overwhelmingly for the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha electons, while the region traditionally seems an electoral bastion of the BSP. The ruling SP, in a bid to change the political preference of the region, is going all out to win the support of the drought-affected people in the region. The BJP, in contrast, is apparently facing anger as severe drought conditions have made its MPs uncomfortable in the region, who hardly even mention the scheme.
The Akhilesh Yadav government is giving out the Food Security entitlements to all families in the Bundelkhand region free of cost, and has added one kg ghee free of cost too in the food packets delivered at the homes of the beneficiaries.
“The Food Security Act has been rolled out in UP as per the norms laid by the Centre under which wheat and rice are given at Rs 2 and Rs 3 a kg respectively to the eligible family. But the state government has made an exception for the severely drought-hit Bundelkhand region by making it free and universal,” said a senior official of the state government during an interaction in the national capital. The Act is not universal, and seeks to cover 75 per cent population in the rural and 50 per cent in urban areas.
While those who are entitled for foodgrains under the law need to go to the fair distribution shops, the UP government, said the official, delivers the food packet, including 1 kg ghee, right at the doorsteps of the families in the Bundelkhand region.
Bundelkhand region is spread between UP and Madhya Pradesh. Jhansi, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Banda, Chitrakoot, Mahoba and Lalitpur are its prominent districts.
Bundelkhand has not seen enough rains for almost a decade, and the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had sought to corner both the Mayawati led BSP and SP for having neglected the region. The UPA government in 2009 announced a Bundelkhand package of Rs 7600 crores in 2009. But the package appears to have made little impact on the lives of the people in the region who are reportedly migrating to other cities in a big number.
“When we checked on the implementation of the specially designed Food Security for the Bundelkhand region, we found that besides the food packet delivered by the local authorities most of the homes had nothing else in the name of foodgrains. We will continue the programme as long as the drought situation does not change for the better for the people,” said the official.
While the SP is showcasing its specially designed universal Food Security Scheme in the Bundelkhand, the BJP is hardly seen using it in its propaganda blitzkrieg in the poll bound state.
Barring Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Nagaland, the National Food Security Act, which was passed by the Parliament in 2013, has come in effect in all the states. Puducherry, Chandigarh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli are also implementing the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for the National Food Security Act on a pilot basis. The Centre has also asked other states to choose a few districts where the DBT could be implemented. The Centre spends about Rs 1.30 lakh crore each year on food subsidy.
