Tamil Nadu Says No To Selfie Points With PM Modi's Cutouts At Ration Shops

The DMK government has reportedly denied permission to install 'selfie points' featuring cutouts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ration shops across the state.

"Initially there were indications that the state might allow selfie points at select locations. However, we have not received any response yet," The New Indian Express quoted a central government official as saying. The permission for the selfie points has been denied since last year.

It has to be noted that the Tamil Nadu government has already denied permission to the banners of PM Modi at ration shops.

"We have not accepted the proposal for selfie points either," an official told the daily and claimed that the state government had not printed Pongal gift bags in 2020 with CM Stalin's picture in it.

As per the report, the primary cards, consisting of 18.64 lakh Antyodaya Anna Yojana cards and 93.36 lakh Priority Household cards, cater to a total of 3.64 crore individuals. These individuals have also been included under the National Food Security Act since June 2013.

The Centre covers the cost of supplying free rice to the 1.12 crore priority cardholders, with a monthly allocation of 1.9 lakh metric tonnes. The distribution of free rice was renamed PMGKAY in November 2023, which led to the central government requiring the display of the Prime Minister's picture at ration shops.

Recently, the Kerala government too rejected the directive from the Centre proposing the use of photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the establishment of selfie points at ration shops.