Terming it “a historic new low” for the political spectrum of the country, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday alleged that the BJP-led Centre had decided to go against a High Court order to fuel its “political ambition”.
AAP chief spokesperson and MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the BJP had used the Centre “as its own machinery” and “blocked” the Delhi government’s doorstep delivery of ration scheme.
The Centre had, Mr. Bharadwaj alleged, written to the Delhi government stating that it will not allow the doorstep delivery of ration scheme after the Delhi Sarkari Ration Dealers’ Sangh made a representation to Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal against the scheme.
He said the same group had also gone to court against the Delhi government and witnessed the “court’s green light” to the ration delivery scheme. The development points towards a clear “nexus between the BJP and the ration mafia”, he alleged.
‘Gamechanger scheme’
“It is one thing to go against the law and another to go against the court. The BJP has lost all sense of morality and gone against a High Court order that permitted the Kejriwal government to implement the doorstep ration delivery scheme,” he said.
Mr. Bharadwaj said it’s a gamechanger scheme, which thousands of families have given their support to. “These families are eagerly waiting for this scheme to be implemented so they can get out of the shackles of the ration mafia,” he said.
In a letter from the Union Ministry of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution to the Department of Food and Civil Supplies, Delhi government, it was stated that while distributing foodgrains to beneficiaries, the city government had to comply with the norms and provisions of NFSA Act 2013.
The letter also stated that the proposal under consideration for home delivery of ration does not meet the norms of NFSA and the government of India does not allow it. Mr. Bhardwaj said it was noteworthy that the High Court had refused to accept these submissions.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had once again sent the file related to the scheme to L-G Baijal after the Delhi High Court had, on September 27, allowed the Delhi government to conditionally implement it, he added.
The Delhi government was about to start the implementation of the scheme but the Centre, through the L-G, “got it stopped” a week before it was to be started earlier this year.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said neither the BJP nor the Centre had any problem with the city government’s doorstep ration distribution if it “arranged its own ration”. The NFSA quota ration is for distribution through fair price shops and it is a countrywide policy, he said.
“Saurabh Bharadwaj should know that even the Delhi High Court has said the government can start doorstep ration scheme but it should never stop ration distribution through Fair Price Shops,” Mr. Kapoor said.
