Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday announced hike in commission amount for PDS distributors from ₹1.24 to ₹1.5 a kg of rice given to beneficiaries. This has been a long-pending demand of the distributors.
He made the announcement at an event organised to celebrate 10 years of the Anna Bhagya scheme at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru. The scheme was announced by Mr. Siddaramaiah during his first tenure as Chief Minister. Making Karnataka “hunger free” is the motive of the scheme, said the Chief Minister, adding it was “tragic” that the Opposition BJP had mocked a scheme meant for the poorest of poor.
“BJP wants to make India ‘Congress mukta’, but Congress wants to make India ‘hasivu mukta’ (hungrer free),” he said. The scheme, he added, was inspired by the concept of “anna dasoha” propagated by Basaveshwara. He accused the Centre of refusing to sell the necessary quantum of rice for Anna Bhagya scheme, forcing the government to disburse cash. “Understand who is really in favour of the poor when you cast your vote,” said Mr. Siddaramaiah, addressing the gathering. Minister for Food and Civil Supplies K.H. Muniyappa was among those present at the event.
