Cong asks Maharashtra govt to provide food subsidies to APL card holders

Mumbai: A delegation of Congress leaders led by Sanjay Nirupam today met Maharashtra Minister for food and civil supplies, Girish Bapat, and demanded that the government should give food subsidy to APL card holders who have been left out of Food Security Act since November last year.

“People above poverty line (APL) are not getting ration from PDS shops since this government came to power,” Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) President Nirupam told reporters at Vidhan Bhawan after the meeting.

“We have told them if you (BJP government) don’t do this in 15 days, we will take to the streets. We will storm into their houses,” he said.

Almost five lakh APL card holders use the benefit in Mumbai and it has been stopped since November, he said. “The government says only those with biometric cards will get ration. This process takes six months. Till then the needy should get ration based on their old cards,” he said.

Pressing for a concrete action, Congress members demanded that a decision should be taken on the matter at the earliest.

“We told the minister we don’t want a vague reply. Cabinet meeting takes place every week. Take a decision in next cabinet meet. The minister could not give a satisfactory reply when we asked why the scheme was stopped, he said it has been stayed and not stopped,” Nirupam said.

PTI