BHOPAL: The opposition Congress has blasted the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government after MP Accountant General (AG) report revealed massive irregularities in the Take Home Ration (THR) scheme meant for infants, pregnant/lactating mothers and out-of-school adolescent girls (c).
Home Minister Narottam Mishra, however, sought to downplay the matter, saying such reports contained opinions of the AG and were not final. In a tweet, state Congress chief Kamal Nath charged the state government with corruption, saying scams were a part of every scheme of the BJP government. “The women and child development department, which is involved in the scam, is headed by the CM himself,” said Nath.
“The state has topped the country in malnourishment. However, corruption and scams are surfacing in the scheme meant to combat malnourishment. We demand a high-level probe into the entire matter,” Nath tweeted.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh also targeted the BJP government. “The BJP government in MP first ruined the future of youths through the Vyapam scam, now injustice is being done with poor kids and pregnant mothers. Did ‘Mama’ (moniker for the MP CM) form the government with Maharaj (Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia) for such scams?” Ramesh tweeted.
Mishra, however, said such reports were subject to scrutiny by state governments. These reports are vetted at multiple levels, including the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Assembly, which is headed by the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state,” Mishra said in Bhopal.
Earlier, the state government had come out with a detailed response to the AG’s audit report on the THR scheme. While confirming that the report has been sent to the government for opinion, it stated that the department had already initiated corrective action on most of the 10 points mentioned in the audit report.
BJP downplays reports of irregularities
Home Minister Mishra, however, said such reports were subject to scrutiny by state governments. These reports are vetted at multiple levels, including the Public Accounts Committee of the Assembly, which is headed by the Leader of the Opposition