NEW DELHI: Politics over hunger appears to be hotting up in the national capital. A day after Rahul Gandhi took a dig at the centre, former finance minister P Chidambaram accused the government of neglecting UPA’s flagship national food security act.
“If you are hungry, be patient! So what if you have no bread? Hunger is a hot topic, these days Of debate in the Delhi Durbar!,” Rahul tweeted on Friday quoting writer Dushyant Kumar.
The party’s social media cell is already highlighting a recent report on Global Hunger Index which suggests that India has seen a slide to 100th rank from 97th in 2016.
On Friday, the former finance minister targeted the government over the issue.
“India slips to 100th rank in Hunger Index because Food Security Act was neglected in last three years. Food Security is the foundation of all development. BJP govt has callously shelved Food Security Act. Why?,” Chidambaram tweeted.
The national food security act passed in August 2013 was Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s pet project and aimed at winning the 2014 national elections for the grand old party. Though no electoral benefits came to the Congress, the roll out of the act over the past three years has been a cause of concern.
In July this year, the Supreme Court observed that it was a pity that a legislation enacted by parliament for citizens' benefit was kept on the back-burner by various states. The apex court observed that almost four years had gone by since the act was enacted, but the authorities and bodies mandated to be set up under it have not been made functional in some states.
The Congress has accused the government of not pushing the envelope. The top court also noted that implementation of the food security law was an equal responsibility of the centre as well the states. A senior AICC functionary cited the report to allege that the government worked only for the rich and cared little about the marginalised, who were better off under the previous UPA.