The CPI (M) has hit out at the officials once again for cancelling “genuine ration cards” in the name of bogus ones and suspending the supply of essential commodities on some of the cards.
The party will stage a dharna in front of the civil supplies office at Gandhinagar on Thursday demanding restoration of cards to all eligible beneficiaries, said Ch. Babu Rao, CPI (M) State committee member and floor leader in the VMC general body, at a press conference on Monday.
A few women whose cards were either cancelled or who were not being given rations turned up at the press conference to narrate their woes to the media.
Mr. Babu Rao alleged that the officials had so far cancelled 42,000 cards by branding them as “bogus” during the verification drive.
Of these, 19,000 were re-examined and 13,211 restored.
Though 6,827 new cards were given, rations were not being given to the beneficiaries because of unavailability of iris and other relevant data of the cards. The officials had deliberately cut down by half the essential supplies like rice, sugar and wheat.
“This entire process makes one suspect that the government has done the weeding out of cards with a purpose,” he said.
Mr. Babu Rao asserted that most of the cards cancelled belonged to genuine beneficiaries.
Re-examination
Though they were being given an opportunity to apply for re-examination, they were being threatened in a veiled manner by saying that criminal action will be initiated if the information furnished was not correct.
The CPI (M) leader accused the officials of not following any reason or rhyme while verifying and cancelling the cards.
The same officials who were turning a blind eye to the commercial use of domestic LPG were harassing the poor in the name of verification, he said.
