The ruling Congress on Thursday declared it will go ahead with its free 10 kg rice Anna Bhagya programme regardless of the Modi regime‘s “non-cooperation,” accusing the BJP of retaliating against Karnataka after the electoral setback on the May 10 assembly polls.

AICC general secretary RS Surjewala accused the BJP of trying to scuttle implementation of its ambitious election promise. The programme, he said in a tweet, would cover 1.28 crore families consisting of about 4.42 crore people.

The Congress regime, he said, was ready to set aside Rs 11,000 crore for the programme, but the Modi government had asked the Food Corporation of India (FCI) not to give Karnataka the additional rice it was asking for.

The FCI, he added, has ample stock and was willing to sell in the open market, but not to Karnataka. This, Surjewala said, showed the Modi government’s dislike for SC/STs, OBCs and poor people. The big traders supported by the BJP were ready to snatch poor people’s rice, he said, while declaring that howsoever hard the BJP tried, the Congress government would implement the scheme.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in a statement, called the Centre’s response a “desperate attempt to create problems” for the smooth rollout of the programme.

“BJP leaders had openly threatened Kannadigas during elections by saying that all schemes will be stopped if BJP is not voted to power. Is this letter to FCI an outcome of that?” the CM asked.The state, he added, wrote to the FCI on June 9 placing a request for 2.28 lakh MT of rice. The FCI had agreed to sell at Rs 34,00 per quintal, but four days later, the Centre wrote to the FCI asking it to discontinue sale of rice and wheat to states except to the Northeast and instead sell them under the open market sale scheme(domestic).BJP THREATENS STIR
Former CM Basavaraj Bommai threatened to launch a state-wide agitation if the Congress failed to implement the scheme from June as promised to the people. He called the government’s charges an attempt to run away from its responsibility.

The government, he said, should either give 10 kg of rice or transfer money to individual bank accounts. The government has all the data to transfer money through direct benefit transfer (DBT).

Bommai asked why the CM did not ask his team of officials to prepare to buy rice on the day he held discussions with them after assuming office and why the government did not invite bids for rice purchase. BJP state president Nalinkumar Kateel accused Siddaramaiah of trying to dodge people with his own set of reasons.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said the Centre’s direction to FCI was applicable to all states including those ruled by the BJP.

“Siddaramaiah is now upset that he can’t distribute Centre’s subsidised rice and claim it as his own. Karnataka Congress Govt must buy food grains from open market, just like BJP Govt in UP, and fulfil the promise made to people,” he said in a statement.