Brinda Karat, Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has said that while foodgrains were rotting in Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns, the poor in the country are starving.
At an election campaign meeting of the Left Democratic Front candidate in the Udumbanchola constituency, K.K. Jayachandran, here on Tuesday, she said that instead of distributing rice at Rs.2 a kg to the poor families in Kerala, the Central authorities had left the grain to decay without concern for the target group.
She said there was an utter failure in the public distribution of essential foodgrains and the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre was playing it safe by releasing a list with a reduced number of families in the BPL (below-the-poverty line) category.
She said the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala had raised the number of families on the BPL list to extend the benefits to a large section of the poor families. But even then it had not benefited the poor, she said and added that without ensuring food security, the poor would be left to starve.
She said that Kerala was now being represented in the Union Cabinet by six Ministers, and leading a secluded and relaxed life, they did nothing to arrest the escalating prices. The vast majority of people in rural areas were leading a miserable life.
While the Congress government was caring for the rich, the poor suffered she said and added that this was evident from leaving out the word ‘poverty' from the Union Budget. The Manmohan Singh government restricted the benefits of growth to a few by classifying them into BPL and APL (above-the-poverty-line) categories.
She said the Central data showed only 11.5 lakh BPL families in the State, while the Kerala government categorically put the number at 40 lakh. She also said that if the United Democratic Front came to power in the State, the poor would be deprived of the benefit of rice at Rs.2 a kg.
She said a series of scams in the UPA government were coming out and the Congress-ruled States were victims of such scams. The Adarsh housing scam in Maharashtra pointed out the large-scale corruption by the Ministers. The Commonwealth Games scam by the Delhi government was just another example on the long list of scams.
Ms. Karat said the Congress was apathetic towards the demands of Kerala and even with a large number of Ministers representing the State in the Union Cabinet, no major project had been implemented in the State.
She said the upcoming elections were not merely an exercise to cast votes but also one to use the right to get good governance. She said that it was important for the country to have Left governments to protect the poor and initiate stable growth. The V.S. Achuthanandan government had proved that many relief measures could be taken for the poor section and the work initiated by the government should be completed for the interest of the State.
