Free ration scheme to be extended by another 5 years: PM Modi in Chhattisgarh

Taking a dig at the Congress party, Modi said that when Congress was in power at the Centre, they did not do anything for the poor but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government is resolving all the issues one by one

Published on: Nov 4, 2023, 19:07:34 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, the Centre’s free ration scheme that provides 5 kg of free food rations every month to about 80 crore (8 billion) poor, will be extended for five more years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was addressing a public rally in poll-bound Chhattisgarh’s Durg district (Twitter Photo)

“The free ration scheme’s tenure is going to be completed in December, but it will be extended for the next five years. This is Modi’s guarantee that the stoves will keep burning in the homes of my 80 crore (8 billion) countrymen,” he said while addressing a rally in Durg in poll-bound Chhattisgarh.

Taking a dig at the Congress party, Modi said that when Congress was in power at the Centre, they did not do anything for the poor but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government is resolving all the issues one by one.

Wherever the BJP government is in power, that state has seen growth and development, Modi said.

“It is the BJP which took MP forward in agriculture, road and railways network. It is the BJP which developed industrial areas and made MP the centre of modern education,” Modi said, adding that the people of Madhya Pradesh trust the BJP government.

He said that the Congress party has nothing to offer and that they are left with the trumpet of false announcements.

Attacking on Congress-led government in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the PM said, “Congress means Rs.1,000 crore scams in the state, dominance of criminals, betrayal of the poor, atrocities by Dalits-backward-tribals, guarantee of making the state sick.”

Further accusing the Congress of abusing him and the entire Other Backward Classes (OBC) community, Modi said he was not scared of abuses, adding that the biggest priority of the BJP government is the welfare of the poor.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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