Terming as farce the food security ordinance brought by the Congress-led UPA Government, Delhi BJP Mahila Morcha activists took out a protest march from the party headquarters at Ashok Road to the residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Addressing women protesters, Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit wants to implement the food security scheme in Delhi from August 20, the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, when no ration cards have been issued in the Capital for the past 15 years.
Mr. Goel said that the Justice Wadhwa Committee had also found that the public distribution system in Delhi was one of the most corrupt and inefficient systems in the country. The Annashree Yojana and Antyodaya Yojna started by the Delhi Government, he said, had also failed to reach adequate number of poor people. “Now, the Delhi Government wants to hoodwink people by talking about the Food Security Scheme. This scheme will meet the same fate as the Rajiv Ratna Awas Yojna,” he cautioned, stating that not even a single house has been allotted under the scheme several years after it was supposed to benefit lakhs in Delhi.
Delhi Mahila Morcha president Sudha Sharma said as a homemaker she knew how adversely the price rise has affected people’s household budgets. Delhi unit general secretary Shikha Rai questioned the logic behind the Centre issuing the food security ordinance when only 20 days remained for commencement of the Parliament session.
As the police stopped the demonstrators at Akbar Road, they raised slogans and broke the barricades. Later all the leaders and workers courted arrest.
