Cong should learn from Chhattisgarh food security bill: BJP

New Delhi, May 18: The

on Friday slammed

vice-president Rahul Gandhi for saying that the opposition was responsible for the disruption in passing the food security

and asked the UPA government to amend its "half-hearted" draft by closely following the

Food Act.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar accused the Congress of blaming the BJP and said it should take the responsibility itself for the failure to pass the food security bill. The opposition party said that if the Congress really felt for the poor, it should take a cue from the Chhattisgarh Food Security Act which provides more foodgrain at less cost to the poor. Chhattisgarh is ruled by the BJP.

Javadekar said the UPA's food bill showed a casual and callous approach of the Congress and that is why it resulted in a half-hearted bill.

The BJP claimed that the Chhattisgarh food bill was more inclusive as it covered 90 per cent of the population, unlike the UPA's bill which covers just 67 per cent. It said that even the amount of foodgrain provided by Chhattisgarh is more than that of the Centre.

The BJP also asked why the Congress-led coalition at the Centre took nine years time before coming up with the good bill. Javadekar said the move was backed by political considerations ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year. He remarked that the food security bill was a vote security bill for the Congress while for them it is a commitment.

OneIndia News