Paswan rakes up slow distribution of free foodgrain, CM denies claims

CHANDIGARH : Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday called the Punjab government out for tardy distribution of foodgrains to 1.41-crore beneficiaries in the state under the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).

“Punjab was allocated 70,725 tonnes of foodgrains for April under PMGKAY but the state government distributed 688 tonnes which is merely 1% of the total allocation,” Paswan tweeted, urging Amarinder to expedite the distribution of free foodgrains in his state.

Paswan’s tweet triggered a war of words between Union food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and chief minister Amarinder Singh.

Retweeting Paswan’s comment, Harsimrat asked Amarinder to get his act together and ensure people do not continue to suffer for want of ration. “Please start central ration distribution immediately,” she wrote.

Rejecting the Centre’s claims on food supplies to Punjab, the

CM accused Harsimrat of misleading the Union food minister. He denied any delay in distribution of free foodgrains received from the Centre, saying the state had got less than 50% of the promised dal in the absence of which the wheat grains also could not be distributed.

Amarinder said as per the Centre’s own directives, wheat and dal had to be distributed to the eligible beneficiaries during the lockdown/curfew, but pulses were not forthcoming from the central government. HTC