Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow the doorstep delivery of ration scheme of the Delhi government. The scheme was scheduled to be rolled out from this week but did not receive the go-ahead from the Central government.
In a digital address, Mr. Kejriwal questioned Mr. Modi and the Central government on the reasons behind rejecting the scheme initiated by the Delhi government that was going to end the rule of the “ration mafia” that had victimised the poor. He said the Central government has said the scheme is being stopped due to a case in the High Court involving ration shopkeepers, but neither has the court stayed the scheme, nor has the Centre had put forward any objection in court.
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Mr. Kejriwal said the Delhi government had sought the approval not once but five times, in spite of no such legal obligations on its part to do so, to start the scheme. “We adhered to all the demands of the Centre. You had objected that we cannot name this scheme after the Chief Minister and we removed the name. Our goal was not to make our name shine. We accepted all the objections you made. After all this, you say we did not take your approval? How else to get approval, sir? Even after that, you rejected this scheme? Why sir?.” Mr. Kejriwal asked Mr. Modi.
“If pizza, burgers, smartphones and clothes can be home delivered, why should ration not be delivered to the houses of the poor? The entire country wants to know why you rejected the scheme?”
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He said no government has dared to end the “ration mafia”. The scheme would also help in containment of COVID-19 as people need not have to crowd at the shops.
“For the first time, a government has come to Delhi which has shown this courage. If this house-to-house ration system was implemented, the ration mafia would have ended. But look how powerful this mafia turned out to be. This plan was to be implemented in Delhi from next week and a week ago, they got it rejected,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
Matter of national interest
Calling it a matter of national interest, Mr. Kejriwal requsted Mr. Modi asked why the Central government was fighting with States as they needed to come together to fight COVID-19.
“The Central government is fighting with Mamata didi. It is fighting with the Jharkhand government. It is fighting with the Lakshadweep people. It is fighting with the Maharashtra government, it is fighting with Delhi, it is fighting with the farmers. People have started saying openly the Central government is fighting the most.”
Beneficiaries would have received 4 kg wheat flour (atta), 1 kg rice and sugar per person at their convenience of their homes, as against the current provision of 4 kg wheat, 1 kg rice and sugar from fair price shops. The scheme would have enabled a person to get flour (atta) instead of wheat. All the ration would have been delivered in hygienically packaged form thereby cutting several trips for a common man to the ration shop and local miller, the Delhi government said.
