In the midst of a fervent campaign battle and intense rivalry between the BJP and the INDIA bloc to win over new voters, the provision of free rations to the nation's 80 crore citizens has emerged as a new focal point for the latter.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, in a joint press conference with Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav, declared on Wednesday that the INDIA bloc would offer 10 kg of free rations to the people, in contrast to the NDA's allocation of 5 kg.
"You're providing 5 kg of rations to the impoverished, but we will offer 10 kg of free rations," Kharge remarked, dismissing the Modi government's claims regarding feeding the needy. Kharge pointed to Karnataka and Telangana as examples, where Congress-led governments have already implemented similar schemes.
He even accused the Modi regime of unfairly taking credit for the free ration scheme, saying it was initiated by the Congress-led UPA government under the Food Security Act.
Curiously, while the Congress manifesto for the 2024 elections did not mention free rations at all, it has now become a staple after the fourth phase of elections.
The main theme of the Congress election manifesto was to empower women with yearly help of Rs 1 lakh and apprenticeship to the unemployed youth who could get help up to Rs 1 lakh.
Significantly, Kharge's announcement comes a day after the Home Minister Amit Shah's announced confidently that the BJP had already got 270 seats, and the next three phases would only add to it.
The free ration being distributed to the masses, which was initiated during the Covid pandemic to help the poorest and the weak, continues even now. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also promised before the elections that this scheme would be continued for the next five years, i.e., his third tenure.
Estimates say that the annual expenditure of this scheme is pegged at an average of Rs 2 lakh crores. If the Congress comes into power and implements their promised expansion, the budgetary provisions would increase manifold and could reach an annual expense of Rs 4 lakh crores.
The bundle of promises put out by Congress in Nyay Patra, like women and the unemployed, and the ways to achieve that have been questioned by experts. If free rations are added to the list, it would further dip into the taxpayers' wallets.
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