Congress protest over food scheme a drama: Mayawati

Lucknow, Nov 22: Terming Congress' protest demanding early implementation of the Food Security Scheme in Uttar Pradesh as a "drama", BSP president Mayawati today said the scheme cannot be implemented if the Centre was not ready to bear its entire cost.

"It is a central scheme. But state governments, whose financial condition is not very good, have to bear the cost for its implementation," she told reporters here.

"Till the Centre is not ready to bear the cost of the scheme, it cannot be implemented," she said, adding that some Congress-ruled states have partly implemented it and they were being helped behind the scenes for it.

Mayawati said that Congress' protest demonstration yesterday was to fool the people of non-Congress ruled states and holds no meaning. The Uttar Pradesh government has delayed implementation of the Food Security Scheme till July next year stating massive cost of the same.

The state unit of Congress had yesterday held a protest march and Vidhan Sabha siege to press for its early implementation. On the sugarcane prices announced by the state government which have been termed as unfavourable to farmers, she said they (prices) should be in keeping with the inflation.

Mayawati asked the government to give a hearing to the justified demands of sugarcane growers, and expressed her support for farmers demanding better prices.

PTI