India News | No Irregularities in Procuring Groceries for Pongal Gift Hampers, Says TN Minister

Chennai, Jan 11 (PTI): The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday denied any irregularities in procuring groceries for the Pongal gift hampers scheme meant for family ration cardholders in the state and demanded the opposition AIADMK to submit proof for its claim.

Also Read | Supreme Court Says Woman Meting Out Cruelty on Another Woman Becomes a More Serious Offence, Jails Woman For Cruelty Against Daughter-in-Law.

Food Minister R Sakkarapani who lashed out at AIADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and K Palaniswami for making the accusation, said the government was ready for an enquiry if the allegation was proved true.

Also Read | COVID-19 Vaccination in India: Over 153.70 Crore Coronavirus Vaccine Doses Administered in the Country.

"Submit proof to me if you have. The government is ready for any enquiry," the Minister said.

Criticising the DMK government for allegedly ignoring the traders from the state, AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam claimed in a statement here that the government procured the groceries from traders in North India.

In Salem, Palaniswami, the party's co-coordinator claimed that the hampers were overpriced and that the quality of the cloth bag given to the beneficiaries through the public distribution system was poor.

Speaking to reporters here, the Minister said all the products were procured through a transparent tender process and added that the hampers consisting of 21 items including sugarcane were being distributed to about 2.15 crore rice cardholders at a cost of Rs 1,297 crore.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)