Allies, even Cong get Govt to rollback, food subsidy will stay

Bowing down to political pressure from within the United Progressive Alliance, especially the Congress, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad...

Bowing down to political pressure from within the United Progressive Alliance, especially the Congress, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today put on hold the decision to increase the price of wheat and rice sold to Above Poverty Line (APL) families and reduce the quantity of foodgrains under the Public Distribution System.

Pawar today said that his ministry would not implement the Cabinet decision till he had explained the need for the food subsidy cut to the UPA allies: the Left, Congress and DMK. ‘‘I will be happy to discuss with them. I am confident that I will be able to explain the position to the Congress, CPI and CPM. Until then, I have decided to stay the decision,’’ he said today. Pawar will now hold meetings with the parties.

The decision is designed to cut down food subsidy for 2005-06 by Rs 4,524 crore and to stop depleting buffer foodgrain stocks but the UPA allies have been demanding a rollback.

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Yesterday, the Congress asked the government to rollback the decision, especially the hike in the Central Issue Price (CIP) of wheat and rice for APL families.

The move to cut food subsidy has been pending with the Cabinet for the last four months. The matter came up 15 times in Cabinet meetings with Pawar pushing for it but it was turned down with an assurance that it would be taken up after the Bihar elections. It was felt that the move would have a negative impact on the UPA in the elections.

But on Friday, the decision was pushed through and it immediately kicked up a political storm with the Left parties opposing the subsidy cut. The AIADMK, with an eye on the upcoming elections in Tamil Nadu, took up the issue in a bid to embarrass the DMK which had little choice but to oppose the move. The last political straw was the opposition from the Congress.

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