Politics continued over the Karnataka government's Anna Bhagya scheme as the ruling Congress protested against the Centre for allegedly restraining the Food Corporation of India (FCI) from allocating extra rice to the state.

The Congress said it will hold the BJP responsible if there is a delay in implementation of the scheme which is scheduled to be begin from July 1. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be in Delhi and is likely to meet Home Minister Amit Shah and senior BJP leaders in the national capital.

In a desperate attempt to create problems for the implementation of Anna Bhagya 2.0, @narendramodi led Government of India writes to FCI to stop sale of rice to State under Open Market Sale Scheme.

Why is @narendramodi & @BJP4Karnataka against us giving 10 Kgs of free rice to… pic.twitter.com/OlclyUaTbF— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) June 15, 2023

"We are committed to the people of Karnataka that we will provide them 10 kg of free rice. It is the duty of the Central government to give us rice. We were giving them money and they agreed to give but now they have refused. We are fighting against the double-standard politics of BJP. We will buy rice from other states and fulfill our poll promise," says Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader DK Shivakumar.

#WATCH | Karnataka Congress protest against the Central govt accusing them of not providing rice to the state pic.twitter.com/h1nIZ6MMxR

— ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2023

The Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Congress of misleading the people about Union government and launched a counter protest. Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and other leaders were detained by the police.

Telangana, AP deny having rice

Neighbouring states such as Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have also communicated that they have limited rice stock. Chhattisgarh has 1.5 lakh tonnes of rice, which would only cover one month of the scheme in Karnataka.

On the other hand, the Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Punjab has come forward to supply rice required for Karnataka's free rice scheme, Anna Bhagya, the AAP's state unit has said.

The AAP's Karnataka unit said the Punjab government was willing to help Karnataka by providing rice required to implement the scheme. AAP Karnataka convener Prithvi Reddy said, "The AAP government of Punjab is ready to provide the rice required for the implementation of Anna Bhagya scheme in Karnataka."

Anna Bhagya scheme

The Congress has promised to increase the rice quantity to the families of the economically weaker section from 5 kg to 10 kg per person per household.

However, the state was able to provide only five kg rice to each member of the BPL families so far, which is being supplied by the Centre.

Recently, the Centre discontinued the sale of rice and wheat from the central pool under the OMSS to state governments. According to an order issued by the FCI, the sale of wheat and rice under the OMSS (domestic) for state governments is discontinued. However, the sale of rice under the OMSS will be continued for northeastern states, hilly states and states facing law and order situations, natural calamities at an existing rate of Rs 3,400 per quintal, it said.

(Edited by : Priyanka Rathi)

First Published:Jun 20, 2023 2:36 PM IST