Khaira challenges Harsimrat for open debate on Food Security Bill

Monday, 08/07/2013

http://www.punjabnewsline.com/news/khaira-challenges-harsimrat-for-open-debate-on-food-security-bill/82302

CHANDIGARH: While advising Akali MP from Bathinda Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Congress spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira has asked her to first introspect within before terming the Right to Food Security, a ‘Vote’ security ordinance and accusing the UPA government of being anti-poor.

Needless to mention, the Right to Food Security ordinance passed by the UPA government is a landmark decision, which is going to provide subsidized ration to approx. 67 % of India’s population. By ridiculing and opposing the right to food to the poor, Harsimart Kaur is only exposing her feudal mindset and double standards, Khaira said.

“If the SAD-BJP launches the ‘Atta-Dal’ scheme, it is termed as ‘Raj Nahin Sewa’ and a pro poor social welfare scheme but if the UPA reaches out to the poor, it is termed as vote bank politics, why these double standards, questions the Congress.”

The Congress leader suggested Harsimrat to analyze the performance of SAD-BJP government on social welfare front instead of calling it anti-poor.

Presently more than 80,000 ‘Shagun’ scheme applications of ‘Dalit’ girls are pending with the state government, with arrears of Rs. 122 crores. Similarly, old age and widow pensions are often delayed for months before they reach the beneficiaries. The government has also failed to honor its manifesto commitments of doubling old age pension from Rs.250 PM to Rs 500 and also increasing the ‘Shagun’ scheme from Rs.15000 to Rs.31000, Khaira disclosed.

“While more than 30 lakh of youth of Punjab remain unemployed, the government has failed to provide the promised Rs.1000 per month stipend to even one unemployed youth. Poor are left at the mercy of drug mafia, who rule the roost with the full backing of the Politician-Police nexus. Prices of electricity have been increased manifold which affect the poor, corruption which is rampant in the state also directly affects the poor.”

Bibi Harsimrat Kaur’s charge of the UPA government being anti-poor and not doing enough is also uncalled for and not based on facts. A close perusal of some of UPA government’s flagship programmes would indicate, that the SAD-BJP government is in fact only passing on the benefits with its stamp.

“Although, the MANREGA programme has gone a long way in ameliorating the lot of poor in the country, the Punjab government has failed to utilize the allocated central funds. The SAD-BJP government has hijacked the 108 Ambulance service for the poor by pasting the photo of CM, while it is totally funded under the Rural Health Mission programme of the UPA government. Even the wheat being passed on for the ‘Atta-Dal’ scheme is being allocated by the central government.”

“Hundreds of crores of funds under the Sarb Sikhsha Abhiyaan (SSA) programme, have been instrumental in improving the plight of our 19000 government. schools, where approx. 34 lac underprivileged students are enrolled.”

Similarly, the Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) and the Rajiv Kalyan Yojna (RKY) are funding the state, for repair and construction of houses belonging to the economically backward and also providing toilets to the poor in villages, he added.

The Rs.1280 crore World Bank funded programme initiated by the Capt. Amarinder Singh government has provided safe drinking water and sewerage facilities to most villages of the state. Other flagship programmes such as JNNURM, RTI, Right to Education Act etc. have empowered the poor, youth, women and the underprivileged to a great extent.

On the contrary, the Badal family has captured the entire government mechanism to their own advantage. All important trades of transport, liquor, cable network and sand quarrying and mining have been hijacked by them. Ministers of the SAD-BJP government are accused of embezzling SSA and Border Area Development Funds meant for the poor.

Khaira challenged Harsimrat for an open debate on the Right to Food Security and her malicious and false allegations against the UPA government.