Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Monday applauded his AAP compatriot Bhagwant Mann’s decision to deliver ration at the doorstep of beneficiaries in Punjab. The Punjab CM rolled out the doorstep delivery of ration scheme in the state months after AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal had failed to implement a similar model in Delhi.
पंजाब में घर-घर राशन योजना चालू। केंद्र सरकार ने इसे दिल्ली में लागू करने से रोका। कोई बात नहीं। इसकी शुरुआत अब पंजाब से करेंगे। LIVE https://t.co/RR0IFijUOf
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 28, 2022
In a video address on Monday, Kejriwal said that the scheme for doorstep delivery of rations will save the time of the poor and will stop the indulgence of ration mafia in the system. He also recounted how he wanted to start the same scheme in Delhi but he was allegedly blocked by the Central Government from doing so. “For the last four years in Delhi, we are trying our best to implement this scheme of doorstep delivery of ration. We had worked out it all, but the BJP-ruled central government blocked it. They didn’t let us do it,” Kejriwal said in the video address.
While the Kejriwal Government in Delhi has been at loggerheads with the Centre over the implementation of the scheme, AAP has now decided to carry it forward to Punjab instead of Delhi. Aam Aadmi Party’s official Twitter handle juxtaposed his challenges in Delhi to implement the scheme with his new announcement in Punjab. However, it is worth noting that throwing around wild allegations to cover up his government’s inadequacies has been catnip for Arvind Kejriwal—a means that he routinely employs to shun accountability—and pass the buck on his rivals.
Even so, as Kejriwal blamed the Central Government for not letting the scheme happen in Delhi, the story has different policy dimensions to uncover beyond Kejriwal’s narrative over ration for the poor.
रोका तो देखो लाख दुनिया ने,
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) March 29, 2022
बंदा तैयार नहीं रुकने को! 🎶 pic.twitter.com/82kzvVhCxB
Kejriwal’s Mukhyamantri Ghar-Ghar Ration Yojana
In the June of 2021, Arvind Kejriwal led AAP government in Delhi was all set to start the doorstep delivery of rations to beneficiaries in Delhi. However, close to a week after the launch of the scheme, AAP accused the Central Government of striking down the scheme. The Aam Aadmi Party had lashed out at the BJP for stopping the Delhi government from distributing rations to the poor. AAP claimed that under the guise of lack of approvals, the central government was denying free rations to the poor.
The announcement made by the Delhi Government had naturally piqued the interest of the observers, given that the centre had already announced free ration for the 80 crore beneficiaries, including those residing in Delhi, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. To many observers, Kejriwal’s announcement was a clever ploy, timed to perfection, just after the Centre announced distributing free rations and aimed at stealing credit.
Clarification from the Centre
The Central Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution wrote to the Delhi Government that the subsidised foodgrains allotted under the National Food Security Act are not permissible to be used for the state government scheme. It pointed out that provision for household delivery of rations does not exist in the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.
However, the Centre maintained that the state has the right to distribute food grains under any scheme. The Central Government’s letter to Delhi stated that the Centre will have no objection if the Delhi government comes out with a separate scheme without mixing the elements of the NFSA. Furthermore, Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal only returned Kejriwal’s scheme for reconsideration, while not rejecting it as was portrayed by the Delhi government.
Kejriwal reiterates the accusations
But the announcement made in Punjab provided a fresh opportunity to amp up his rhetorics against the central government and reiterate the same accusations to malign the Centre. It is noteworthy to mention that the Modi Government always granted additional rations to the state whenever required. In 2021, the Kejriwal government lifted 179% of its total quota under NFSA and 63,200 MT of ration under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
Talking about Delhi itself, despite the Central government’s several notifications on implementing the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme in Delhi, the Kejriwal government has, so far, failed in doing so. Allotted under National Food Security Act (NFSA), the scheme could have benefited more than a million migrant workers in Delhi without any additional cost to Delhi’s budget.
In 2021, the Government of India had categorically denied the allegations raised by the Delhi Government over the ration delivery scheme. While Kejriwal has played to politics by accusing the Government of India of the same things again, his tendency to make tall promises, without understanding the nuances involved, betrays his lack of understanding of policy matters as a politician.
