CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has made it clear that no beneficiary will be removed from the National Food Security Act (NFSA) list as long as he is in office, setting the stage for a potential confrontation with the Union Government.
The NFSA provides subsidised wheat to eligible households, and the Centre had asked the Punjab Government to verify 11 lakh “suspicious” beneficiaries and delete them by 30 September.
Hitting back at the Centre, Mann said, “As long as I am the CM of Punjab, no beneficiary will be deleted.” The Centre allegedly asked the Punjab Government to delete 8,02,493 ration cards under the Public Distribution System (PDS), claiming they did not fulfil the eligibility criteria.
“This means that 32 lakh beneficiaries of Punjab will be deprived of subsidised wheat. Of the 1.53 crore beneficiaries, the state government has verified 1.29 crore beneficiaries according to the original checklist,” he said.
Mann added that he has requested a six-month extension from the Centre and intends to raise the issue at the highest levels of the Union Government.
“Our government will check ourselves whether there are any ineligible beneficiaries. They are saying that we have beneficiaries who own cars, have government jobs, a turnover of Rs 25 lakh, or over 2.5 acres of land,” he said, adding, “I want to ask them what will happen in the case of a family of two brothers who have their ration card under the name of one brother who is in government service, but the other brother does not have any source of income.”
The Chief Minister said, “We are writing a letter to them in protest. We will also talk to procurement agencies such as the Punjab Civil Supplies Corporation to keep up the supply even if the Centre directs us to delete the names.”
“This is what the BJP is doing. On one side, they call themselves pro-people. They say they want to make India a Vishwa Guru. Is this how they will do it? They are not only ‘vote-chor’ but also ‘ration-chor’,” Mann added.
Mann also criticised the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme, alleging that not a single person from the state would qualify under the Centre’s criteria.
“As per the criteria, if you have a scooter, a power meter, a pucca house, or a gas cylinder, then one cannot be a beneficiary under this scheme,” he said, pointing out that under the Ujjwala scheme, cylinders are given to every household.
Raising concerns over data privacy, Mann questioned the necessity of fresh surveys. “When Aadhaar is already mandatory for everything, why is there still a need for fresh surveys? Who is taking this data and for what purpose?” he asked.
Highlighting his government’s welfare initiatives, Mann said the state is committed to providing Rs 1,000 per month to women without demanding intrusive personal details.