Centre Not Giving Rice Is Policy Decision, Not Specific To Karnataka: Goyal

Amid a political row after the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government accused the Centre of refusing to sell rice from central reserves, Union minister Piyush Goyal said Karnataka is free to purchase rice from the open market and distribute it instead of criticising the Centre.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah hit out at the Union government for its anti-Kannadiga and anti-poor decision not to allow the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to sell rice directly to the state.

The central government has refused to provide rice to several states from its stocks to ensure that the price of the grain does not increase in the open market and people continue to get it at affordable rates, said Goyal.

A committee of secretaries decided that the stock of rice at central reserves be kept to ''serve 140 crore people of the country'' and states can purchase the rice from the market if they need, the Union Minister said when asked for his comment on protests in Karnataka over the supply of rice. The politics over the supply of rice to Karnataka heated up on Tuesday with the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP staging demonstrations in various parts of the state.

The Congress staged protests in all district headquarters of the state against the BJP-led Centre for allegedly denying rice for the Karnataka government's Anna Bhagya scheme.

The Centre said it cannot provide the additional five kg though Karnataka said it was ready to buy it from the central institutions such as Food Corporation of India, Central Warehousing Corporation and NAFED.

Recently, the union government discontinued the sale of rice and wheat from the central pool under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to state governments.

Refused rice supply to UP, MP as well

Reacting to Siddaramaiah's anti-Kannadiga charge, Goyal said ''I have received demands for rice from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. Various states keep demanding rice in huge quantities. But we have refused (to give rice to) all of them."

"We want that the rice stock which is with India (government)...so that there is no rise in price (of rice) in the country and the rice is sold at a cheaper rate in the open market in every nook and corner of the country. The country's 140 crore people have to buy rice," the minister added.

The Centre releases surplus grains from its stocks under the open market sale scheme (OMSS) to increase the supply of wheat and rice and arrest price rise in the open market.

Punjab steps in to help Karnataka

Meanwhile, the Punjab government has offered to supply the requisite quantum of rice even as the State government is trying to procure rice from national-level cooperative agencies.

"The AAP government of Punjab is ready to provide the rice required for the implementation of Anna Bhagya scheme in Karnataka." He stated that he had a detailed discussion on the issue with Punjab Chief Minister Mann," AAP Karnataka convener Prithvi Reddy said in a letter to Siddaramaiah.

"Mann reacted positively and has in-principle agreed to supply rice in the state from Punjab," Reddy claimed. The AAP strongly believes that irrespective of political differences, all parties must support initiatives that are meant to help people of our country, he said.