Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah ‘blatantly misleading’ people by blaming Centre over ‘Anna Bhagya’ rice supply: BJP

Related: ‘Karnataka poll promises can be Congress template elsewhere’

Tejasvi Surya takes on Congress

Bengaluru South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya released some documents on Saturday as he accused the Congress government in the state of “lying”.

“Siddaramaiah is trying to mislead the people of Karnataka blatantly by alleging that the Union government deliberately changed the open market sale scheme (domestic) [OMSS] policy after the Karnataka government requested additional rice,” he said.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said: “But the minutes of the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) meeting dated 8 June, which took place before the state government requested regional FCI, show that the change in OMSS policy was already suggested in view of the increase in prices of wheat and rice across the country.”

He added: “It also very clearly shows that the process to reconsider this policy had started way back in early May by the inter-ministerial committee, much before even the Karnataka elections were held.”

Congress lies! Not once, but every time.

Here is thread with TRUTH!

On 2nd May : Central Govt’s Inter-Ministerial Committee met to discuss price rise of food grains & a decision was made on OMSS.

This meeting was held even before the state elections in Karnataka.

1/n pic.twitter.com/1sKMivsDvg

— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) June 17, 2023

The MP alleged that the Congress and Siddaramaiah were lying to hide their own incompetence and were desperately trying to blame the Union government led by Narendra Modi in Delhi.

He also said the Congress government was misleading people by stating that the Union government was ready to supply to private players but not to state governments.

He claimed: “The Congress government wanted to pass on the Union government’s subsidised rice scheme as its own. Now, when caught in the act of lying, they are trying to fool the public.”

He continued: “If at all the Congress is serious about its commitment to provide 10 kg rice to people of Karnataka as per its poll promise, it must procure 10 kg rice from the open market and distribute it in addition to the 5 kg rice given by the Modi government under the National Food Security Act.”

Surya also suggested that the Siddaramaiah government procure rice from the state’s farmers directly, as was being done in states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, instead of going for other sources or rice-producing states.

Also read: Conditions mount for Congress’ ‘unconditional’ guarantees

The impediments

The chief minister and his Cabinet ministers have alleged that the Union government discontinued the sale of wheat and rice under OMSS for state governments a day after the FCI — which has ample stocks — agreed to provide 2,08,425.750 metric tonnes of rice to Karnataka at a rate of ₹34 per kg.

Siddaramaiah and his ministers have accused the BJP-led Union government of conspiring to “fail” the Congress administration’s poll guarantee by ensuring that the state doesn’t get the required amount of rice for rolling out the scheme from 1 July, as promised.

The state government subsequently said that talks are underway with rice-producing states like Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh, among others, to procure the required quantity for the “Anna Bhagya” scheme.

Related: Karnataka Congress to protest Union government decision

(With PTI inputs)