New Delhi: Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Monday slammed the city government for not distributing the ration provided by the Centre, saying that only 1 per cent of the total ration given by the Centre was distributed.
Speaking to IANS, Tiwari said the Central government had allocated 36,367 tonnes of food grains to Delhi in April, and less than 1 per cent of it has been distributed to the beneficiaries.
“The Delhi government only distributed 63 tonnes of food grains to the people. It is just 1 per cent of the total. Even Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan had urged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to speed up the distribution of food grains in the state under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY),” Tiwari said.
Tiwari slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, saying “it delayed the distribution so that it can distribute a kit having Kejriwal’s photo”.
“Having the photo on the kit is not an issue, but delay in distribution is a major crisis. Particularly, amid the lockdown. Where is the remaining ration is also a big question. The Kejriwal government should explain this,” Tiwari told IANS.
The Lok Sabha MP from North-East Delhi also said that while the elected leaders were on the roads with the public, Kejriwal remained indoors.
He said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has inspected the districts in the state to check the status of Covid-19 spread and the help provided to the people amid the lockdown.
“Being an MP, I am also visiting places to ensure that everything is in place. But Kejriwal remained indoors all this while. All the elected representatives are taking the risk and are with the public,” Tiwari said.
He added that Kejriwal did not step out even when the migrants were on the road. “Everything cannot be kept for officials to see. Being a leader, you need to see things on your own,” he said.
Tiwari went on to say that on April 8, during a video conference with Kejriwal, the MPs had demanded the list of kitchens being operated by the city government in each of the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi.
However, even after a month, the list has not been given to the MPs, he said.
“We wanted the list so that we can see how things are working and if we can provide any help. However, we are yet to get the list,” he added.
On April 21, the Delhi government had announced that it will give 2,000 food coupons each to all the MLAs and MPs in the city for distribution of ration among the needy without any ID cards.
“Only a week is left for the lockdown. I did not receive the list of kitchens or the food coupons,” Tiwari said.
“Coupon distribution was their choice, but the Centre gave ration to them for the public which is missing. They have not just failed in ration distribution, but their actions are also against the public. Their response on food distribution is anti-people,” the BJP MP said.
