India News | Nothing to Celebrate About: CPI on PMGKAY Extension
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The CPI(M) on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of extending the free ration scheme for the poor should not be celebrated as the beneficiaries should be getting 10 kg of ration instead of just 5 kg.
New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) The CPI(M) on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of extending the free ration scheme for the poor should not be celebrated as the beneficiaries should be getting 10 kg of ration instead of just 5 kg.
"PM Modi's announcement of extending free ration to the poor for five years is not to be celebrated - people should be getting 10 kg ration while under the BJP govt, they're getting only five kilos," the CPI(M) said in a post from its official account on X.
"Food is not charity, it's a right," the party said.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said the Food Security Act guarantees 5 kg of food grain at Rs 2, while under PMGKAY, 5 kg of food grain is given free of cost.
"So each individual should get a total of 10 kg. But you are giving only grains under PMGKY and not the 5 kg under FSA," it said.
At a rally in Durg on Saturday, Modi said the government will extend for five years the free ration scheme covering 80 crore poor people.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) was launched in March 2020, during the Covid pandemic. The scheme provides for 5 kg of rice or wheat per person and 1 kg of dal to each family holding a ration card.
The scheme was subsequently extended multiple times. In December 2022, it was merged with the National Food Security Act.
(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)