The main opposition Congress on Thursday demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged irregularities in the issuance of rations cards in the state.
During a discussion in the Assembly, Congress MLAs alleged that the BJP government in the state had issued a large number of ration cards for "taking advantage" ahead of the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, and now it was cancelling these cards.
Food Minister Punnulal Mohile refuted the allegations, saying the government's intention was very clear; it did not want ineligible persons to get food grains meant for the poor.
During a discussion on adjournment motion on the issue, state Congress Chief Bhupesh Baghel said before implementation of the Food Security Act in the state last year there were 42 lakh poor families with ration cards. After the scheme came into effect, the number rose to 71 lakh. He sought to know how many ration cards were cancelled
during May-June 2014.
Leader of the Opposition TS Singhdeo asked how the number of poor families could go up within a year, and who was responsible for ineligible families getting cards.
Minister Mohile said although ration cards of 11.96 lakh families were found primarily ineligible during verification drive in the past one-and-a-half months, only 1.81 lakh cards had been cancelled so far.
Such verification is done regularly, he said, adding that the families whose ration cards were cancelled would get the chance to submit their objections before the final cancellation.
But Baghel and Singhdeo accused the government of issuing a large number of ration cards for taking advantage ahead of elections, and demanded a CBI probe.
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