AAP govt depriving poor of ration cards: LoP Gupta

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of denying ration cards to nearly 90,000 of poorest families, leaving them deprived of their rightful entitlements under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana.

Speaking at a press conference here on Monday, Gupta alleged that the Kejriwal-led administration had failed to issue ration cards to these families, exacerbating poverty in the Capital.

Gupta said, “The Kejriwal government has conspired against the poor and revealed its anti-Dalit and anti-poor stance by withholding ration. These families, who belong to the most marginalised sections of society, have been deprived of their basic right to food.” He added that the BJP legislative group would soon meet the Lieutenant-Governor to seek his intervention in the matter.

He explained that the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, launched during the tenure of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee under the National Food Security Act, was designed to provide 35 kg of ration per month to Delhi’s poorest families. This ration included 21 kg of wheat, 14 kg of rice, and 1 kg of sugar.

“According to the 2011 Census, 1,56,800 extremely poor families in Delhi were entitled to this ration. But under the AAP, the number of beneficiaries has dropped from 76,458 to 66,532,” said Gupta.

Gupta said in 2019, after pressure from the party, the Delhi Government’s Food and Civil Supplies Department prepared a list of 90,000 remaining eligible families and submitted it for approval to Minister Imran Hussain. However, he alleged that the file was deliberately delayed. “It is unfortunate that on September 16, 2019, exactly five years ago, Hussain ordered the file to be put on hold. These families have been waiting for five years, and during this time, they have been denied food,” Gupta remarked.

He further criticised the AAP government for its treatment of the 66,532 families currently receiving ration under the scheme, stating that these families had not received sugar for the past three months. “The Kejriwal government has failed to provide these families their due. Not only have they denied ration to new beneficiaries, but they are also neglecting the ones currently enrolled in the programme,” he alleged.