Ashok Gehlot govt started practice of marking the poor: BJP hits back
As the Congress mounted an attack on the Vasundhara Raje government for marking the houses of the BPL families by asking them to paint “I am extremely poor” on the walls, a political slugfest has started with the ruling BJP now saying that the previous dispensation had begun the practice.
It started with former chief minister Ashok Gehlot tweeting a local media report that carries photos in which, “I am poor and I take ration through NFSA” (National Food Security Act), is seen written in red against a yellow-colour patch on the walls of the houses purportedly belonging to BPL families.
“What a shame, how admn in Raj is humiliating poor ppl! Putting boards outside homes declaring their poverty, is worst form of mental torture (sic),” Gehlot had tweeted three days ago.
The tweet resulted in a furore with the people on the social media blaming the state government for its anti-poor policies.
While the Opposition has accused the Vasundhara Raje government of “humiliating” the poor by “branding” them, the state government said it was actually the Ashok Gehlot dispensation that had started the practice.
“It is not right to politicise the matter. It was started by the Ashok Gehlot government. By writing BPL on the walls, not only valid beneficiaries are identified but also those ineligible for the scheme get discarded,” panchayati raj and rural development Rajendra Rathore minister said in a statement.
“The BJP government did not order writing ‘I am poor and I take ration through NFSA’ on those walls. The matter will be investigated,” the minister said Thursday. HTC