New Delhi: The Centre has denied Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s claim that it directed the state government to remove over eight lakh ration cardholders from the list of beneficiaries.
Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said no beneficiary’s name has been removed under the Punjab Food Security Act, nor has any quota been reduced. He added that the Punjab government was spreading lies on the issue.
“The central government has not given any direction to remove the name of any beneficiary in Punjab. Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013, 1.41 crore poor people are entitled to food grains and the Centre is allocating foodgrains to all these beneficiaries,” Joshi said.
The Centre has asked the state government to re-examine the beneficiaries based on the prescribed criteria to ensure that eligible claimants continue to receive the benefit.
Earlier, CM Mann had claimed that his government had received a report from the Centre seeking the removal of 8,02,493 ration cardholders in Punjab for being ineligible.
