India
‘BPL cards to be reinstated except for government employees and taxpayers’: Siddaramaiah government issues clarification | India News – Times of India
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Karnataka’s Minister of Food and Civil Supplies KH Muniyappa said BPL cards will be reinstated except for government employees and taxpayers.
The state government’s BPL card revision program aims to assess the eligibility status of current cardholders to identify ineligible beneficiaries. Minister Muniyappa clarified that a minimum percentage of BPL cards, approximately one to two percent, have been reclassified as APL cards.
“Today we have decided (that there is) no question of canceling (the BPL cards). Any card is eligible. They will get the rice after a week. We have enough money to pay the DBT (direct bank transfer) .There is no money related problem.The only thing is that while we are doing this, one or two percent of the BPL cards have been converted to APL (Above Poverty Line) a decision that all (BPL) cards have to be restored except for government employees and income taxpayers,” Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister KH Muniyappa told ANI.
The statement followed the BJP’s opposition to the BPL ticket cancellation initiative, with demands for the resignation of the Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister.
Muniyappa rejected the BJP’s calls for his resignation, acknowledging that this was standard opposition behavior and stating that it was not necessary.
The minister detailed that BPL cards of taxpayers and government employees would be converted, with 4,036 cards for government employees reviewed, 102,509 cards assessed and 8,647 BPL cards cancelled.
Today, BJP president BY Vijayendra claimed that the Karnataka government has canceled 12 lakh BPL cards overnight.
“The desperate CM Siddaramaiah is not able to raise the resources to meet the guarantees and it is a desperate act by the Chief Minister… They have canceled over 12 lakh BPL cards… Before the BPL cards are cancelled, there should be proper rules. Instead, 12 lakh BPL cards were canceled overnight. They are taking poor people to the streets. The BJP is not in favor of canceling the BPL. cards…’ he said as he spoke to ANI.
On Monday, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar criticized the BJP for politicizing the government’s BPL card assessment initiative.
In his media interaction, he stated, “We are not taking away anyone’s food. The BJP has nothing to do but politicize. The percentage of BPL cardholders in many constituencies is around 90%. My constituency has 90%, and Holenarasipura has 92% .BPL card holders should therefore ensure that genuine and needy people get BPL cards. Some BPL cards have been canceled after assessment.
This statement addressed BJP’s allegations that the government was depriving people of food.
