There should be no ‘hate politics’ over Anna Bhagya for the poor, Siddaramaiah tells Amit Shah

“Shah told me that he will speak to the Union minister concerned and come back.”

On his maiden visit to the national capital after swearing in as the chief minister on 20 May, Siddaramaiah raised the state’s demand that the FCI should sell rice under the Open Market Sale Scheme-Domestic (OMSSD).

The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said Siddaramaiah told Shah that the Union government’s policy — against selling food grains to states under the OMSSD — has hit Karnataka’s Anna Bhagya scheme, intended to provide 10 kg of free rice to below-the-poverty-line and Antyodaya card holders every month.

Shah assured the chief minister that he would take up the matter with the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal, the CMO said.

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CM calls on President Murmu

Earlier, Siddaramaiah called on President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Ministers Zameer Ahmed Khan and Byrathi Suresh accompanied him.

Meanwhile, Karnataka’s Minister for Food and Civil Supplies KH Muniyappa, who was also in Delhi on Wednesday, accused Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Mines Raosaheb Dadarao Danve of “intentionally” refusing to meet him.

In his meeting with Shah, Siddaramaiah said that the Union government policies were affecting the poor.

Though termed a courtesy call, the meeting was Siddaramaiah’s first with Shah after taking over as the chief minister.

Chief Minister Shri @siddaramaiah today cordially met with @HMOIndia Shri @AmitShah and held discussions in New Delhi today. pic.twitter.com/6V1b3A4Wdx

— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) June 21, 2023

Anti-Food Security policy

The CMO said Siddaramaiah opined that “the Union government’s new policy is against the Food Security Act, and it will directly affect two meals a day plan of the poor, and hence it will be good if the policy of not supplying food grains to the states is revoked”.

“Shah, in turn, told the chief minister that he will hold talks with Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal in this regard on Thursday morning,” the CMO said.

The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka has been critical of the Union government ever since the latter ordered the discontinuation of food grains to states under OMSSD.

The Karnataka Cabinet termed the decision “anti-poor” and “intentional” to cause hindrances to the implementation of the government’s Anna Bhagya scheme, one of the five poll guarantees made by the Congress.

Siddaramaiah alleged that the Centre discontinued the sale of wheat and rice under OMSSD for state governments a day after the FCI — which has seven lakh metric tonnes of rice in stocks — had agreed to provide 2,28,425.750 metric tonnes of rice to Karnataka at ₹36.60/kg including ₹2.60 transportation charge, on 12 June.

The BJP, however, hit back accusing the Congress and Siddaramaiah of blatantly “lying to hide their incompetence” and desperately trying to blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.

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Anna Bhagya may be delayed

On Wednesday, Siddaramaiah hinted that the launch of the scheme — that was to be launched on 1 July — is likely to be delayed.

“There may be a slight delay in implementing the Anna Bhagya scheme, as the Centre has played dirty politics,” he told reporters in Delhi.

“The state government is making all efforts to procure rice and has reached out to various rice-producing states such as Telangana, West Bengal, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh.”

“They will not be able to supply the state’s requirement of 2,28,000 metric tonnes. Also, the cost of transportation will be high,” he said.

“The rice from Andhra will cost ₹42/kg. Telangana said it has only wheat and not rice. The Chhattisgarh chief minister told me that they could supply one lakh metric tonnes of rice only for a month. The Punjab chief minister said he will get back after discussing with officials,” Siddaramaiah said.

Stating that a large quantity of rice is not available in Karnataka, he said, the state will have to go for a tender in the open market. “It will take a minimum of two months. So we have called for quotations from central government agencies like NCCF, NAFED, Kendriya Bhandar,” he said.

“We will get to know from them tomorrow, and then we will decide. There may be a slight delay in implementing the scheme as the Union government has played politics,” he alleged.

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Mallikarjun Kharge postpones meeting

Meanwhile, a meeting between AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Karnataka ministers was postponed. The meeting was scheduled for 21 June.

Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president DK Shivakumar told reports that Kharge had called for a meeting of all Cabinet ministers in Delhi on Wednesday.

“We have got a message from the AICC president’s office that the meeting has been postponed. The date of the next meeting will be decided soon,” Minister for Minor Irrigation and Science and Technology NS Boseraju told South First.