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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement that the Centre’s free ration scheme will be extended by five more years triggered a political slugfest on Sunday, with Opposition parties arguing this is a tacit admission on the PM’s part that the economy is in distress and 80 crore Indians are still facing hunger after nine-and-a-half years of BJP rule.
But, the Opposition parties find themselves in a tricky situation. Given that the scheme touches a majority of Indians, the parties, especially the Congress, cannot oppose the programme despite the huge burden of Rs 2 lakh crore on the exchequer. The Congress, too, has made a raft of promises in poll-bound states — which it calls guarantees — ranging from subsidies on gas cylinders, monthly financial support to women heads of families, free power, and health insurance schemes.
Instead, the Congress has framed it as the PM’s virtual admission that his government’s economic policies have pushed up prices of essential commodities and left the economy reeling. So much so that the government is now being forced to extend the PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) by five years. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), meanwhile, has approached the Election Commission claiming that the Prime Minister’s announcement amid poll campaigns in five states violates the model code of conduct. Modi made the announcements in Chhattisgarh’s Durg and Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, and repeated it at a public meeting in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, on Sunday.
At a press conference in Bhopal, Congress communications head Jairam Ramesh said the Prime Minister’s announcement means economic distress continues. “This means poverty and economic distress is continuing, especially since demonetisation and the hasty rollout of GST … they talk about inflation rate but the prices of essential commodities have risen so much that people are not able to bear it, forcing the Prime Minister to extend the PMGKAY to five more years.”
Modi’s “latest announcement is an indication of the continuing high level of economic distress and growing inequalities”, he said, adding, “For the vast majority of Indians incomes have not grown in line with the sky-high prices of essential commodities.”
Recalling that Modi during his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister “consistently opposed the National Food Security passed by Parliament in Sept 2013,” Ramesh said, “The PMGKAY is nothing but the National Food Security Act (NFSA) that already covered 80 crore Indians. This of course is not the only example of a U-turn done by him. On MGNREGA too, which proved to be a life-saver during the pandemic, he was forced to shift his position.”
The TMC in its complaint to the EC said, “The timing and stage of the announcement — at a BJP poll rally clearly — shows that it is an attempt by the party in power to influence the electorate ahead of the elections and to defeat the idea of a level playing field.”
Objecting to Modi’s announcement, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale said, “Modi could have announced the extension of free ration anytime. But the fact that he chose to do it during an election rally shows how desperate he is with the fear of losing and is violating the code of conduct. This isn’t about the policy but about intentionally announcing it at an election rally to garner votes.”
In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Chhattisgarh, Gokhale wrote that the PM made the announcement at a rally in Durg Saturday “in his capacity as a star campaigner for the BJP and not in his official capacity as the Prime Minister of India”.
He said that Clause VII (6)(a) of the Model Code of Conduct related to “party in power” states: “From the time elections are announced by Commission, Ministers and other authorities shall not thereof announce any financial grants in any form or promises.”
“PM belongs to the BJP which is the party in power in the Union Govt of India. This policy announcement (NOT promise) of extending the free ration scheme for 5 years was made by the PM while campaigning for the BJP. Therefore, this action of the PM is a clear and gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct currently in force in Chhattisgarh in view of the upcoming Assembly Elections,” he said, asking the poll body to initiate action against Modi.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj K Jha asked the PM to stop describing welfare initiatives and schemes as “revdi” from now on. “The Prime Minister should stop calling it a free ration. There are certain commitments which emanate out of the very fact that India is a welfare state. At least, on paper, seen through our Constitution and the way things have functioned. Secondly, using the same logic, the Prime Minister should not deny that the hunger index places India on a lower pedestal. Because that would generate a kind of anomaly. If there is no hunger, what would you do? Denial of the hunger index and going for this extension of ration doesn’t I think go very well. I must also expect the Prime Minister, apart from stopping the usage of the word free, should immediately stop the usage of the word revdi, which I have heard him say many times,” Jha said.
