Congress accuses BJP of double standards on Karnataka rice issue

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Congress on Tuesday accused the BJP of double standards, saying when that party was ruling in Karnataka, its government bought 95% of Food Corporation of India’s rice stock in open auction between January and May this year, but now in opposition, it is blocking a similar sale of the grains to the state. The Congress wrested power from the BJP after the May 10 assembly polls.

“It (the BJP) rescinded the FCI’s sale order of June 12th with the sole intention of sabotaging the Congress' Anna Bhagya which is unique to Karnataka,” AICC leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted. The Modi regime, he said, should stop shooting from the shoulders of other states, and it shouldn’t be deploying officers to defend what he said was “a pathetic political decision”.

The Congress has been blaming the BJP over Karnataka's difficulties in sourcing rice needed for the Anna Bhagya programme. Ahead of elections, the Congress had promised 10 kg of rice to low-income families every month, but was unable to get the 5 kgs of extra rice per BPL cardholder it needed.

When the state tried to source the grain from the FCI, the corporation allegedly backed out of a deal citing a central government directive asking it to sell rice in an open market auction, rather than directly to states. Sandwiched between having to honour its election pledge and lack of rice in the market, the Karnataka government tried to procure rice from other rice-growing states like Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.

However, the government could not negotiate a good deal before the deadline and decided to provide money to beneficiaries in lieu of the rice as a temporary measure. In the latest development, Congress leaders have cornered the BJP after bids came for just 170