Responding to the Delhi government’s announcement to give a two-month free ration to cardholders, the Delhi Congress on Tuesday said that the announcement was too little and had come too late.
Delhi Congress chief Ch. Anil Kumar said that the Delhi government’s belated announcement to give a two-month free ration to cardholders would keep out more people than those who benefit. He demanded that the Delhi government provide free ration irrespective of any document to those in need. He alleged that in the Capital, only 72 lakh people have ration cards and that more than 54 lakh people’s applications for new ration cards have been pending with the government for the past six years.
Ground reality
He said that the government should understand the ground reality where millions have lost jobs, daily wagers have nothing left to feed their family. “Lakhs of people have been severely affected by the sudden unplanned lockout that was put in place as the government was solely responsible for the lack of planning to deal with the sudden spike in the number of infections,” he said.
Mr. Kumar said for the past year, the Delhi Congress has been demanding that each needy family should be given monthly financial assistance of ₹10,000 as the pandemic has spared none. The ill-advised sudden lockdown, shutting down virtually all businesses, has ruined the lives of each and every family in Delhi, he alleged.
“When COVID-19 cases were ebbing in the Capital, instead of improving the facilities and infrastructure in the hospitals, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited other States to enlarge his party’s political presence rather than addressing the pressing problems in Delhi.
