The ruling Congress appears to be emulating the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, by distributing ration cards to woo the electorate.
While the free distribution of ration cards through a private firm by the Yeddyurappa government ahead of the 2009 polls allegedly resulted in the creation of lakhs of bogus ration cards, one has to wait for the results of the 2014 exercise by the Congress government.
In one such pro-electorate mission, Congress MLA from Yeshwantpur S.T. Somashekar organised a mega ration card distribution function in his constituency on Monday and Tuesday when hundreds of people collected their ration cards. The event was organised close to Amritanandamayi Ashram, off Ullalu Main Road.
One of the beneficiaries, who did not wish to be identified, said that he had applied for the card a few months ago and was receiving it now. “It is not that I applied for the card yesterday and got it today,” he told The Hindu on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Mr. Somashekar too said that the application for the cards were received months ago. Since people in his constituency had to approach different offices of the Food and Civil Supplies Department, he had organised the function to distribute the cards at one venue.
He said that the cards were being issued only after authenticating the thumb impressions of the beneficiaries thereby ruling out the issue of any bogus cards.
Food and Civil Supplies Commissioner Harsh Gupta said that receiving applications and issuing ration cards have been an ongoing affair and this is being done through the offices of the department across the State. The MLA might have arranged a symbolic function to distribute the cards in his constituency, Mr. Gupta said.
