KAMAREDDY: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed her unhappiness with Kamareddy district collector Jitesh V Patil for not giving proper answers regarding the distribution of PDS rice which is being provided free by the Centre under the Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
As a part of the Parliament Pravas Yojana, she toured Banswada Assembly constituency and inspected a PDS ration shop at Birkur where she asked the Collector about the share in the expenditure borne by the State and the Centre in buying rice for distribution. When Patil expressed his ignorance, Nirmala Sitharaman shot back, saying, “You are the District Collector, but you don’t know this? Get all the facts ready, I will come back to you in half an hour.”
It was not the end of the Collector’s ordeal as the Union Finance Minister was further upset when the District Collector failed to give a proper reply when she asked why a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not there on the ration shop premises.
“A kg of PDS rice costs Rs 35 and the Centre provides Rs 29 as subsidy,” Sitharaman told an embarrassed Collector and directed him to make sure that a photo of the PM was hung on the shop wall and a message in this regard be sent to her. “If you fail to do so, BJP activists will do that and officials would be obliged to provide protection to the photo. If the photo is displaced, I will take action against you,’’ the Union Minister warned the Collector.
She expressed surprise that the officials concerned failed to create awareness among the people about the Centre’s free rice distribution. Sitharaman further reminded the officials that the Centre was spending on procurement and transportation of rice. Later, she interacted with beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, Telangana Minister K T Rama Rao in a tweet on Friday night, said, "I am appalled by the unruly conduct of FM @nsitharaman today with District Magistrate/Collector of Kamareddy. These political histrionics on the street will only demoralise hardworking AIS officers."
"My compliments to @Collector_KMR Jitesh V Patil, IAS on his dignified conduct," he tweeted.