Sonia Gandhi writes to PM Modi, urges Centre to extend free food grains for 3 months more
The Congress chief added that several states had requested for the same and suggested that temporary ration cards be issued for all households that were excluded from the Public Distribution System.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urging the Centre to extend the provision of free food grains for a period of three months more up till September 2020, as unemployment is on the rise across India, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown imposed to curb its spread.
“Nearly three months since the country went into a strict lockdown and millions of Indians are at risk of slipping into poverty. The provision of 5 kg free food grains per person per month under the National Food Security Act in addition to regular entitlements….the government must consider extending the provision for a further period of three months from July to September, 2020,” the Congress chief wrote in her letter to the Prime Minister.
She also added that several states had requested for the same and suggested that temporary ration cards be issued for all households that were excluded from the Public Distribution System.
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Senior Congress leaders too have been taking a swipe at the government over the rising prices of petroleum products recently.
At the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday, party leaders are likely to discuss border tensions with China and the Union government’s response to the situation. The Congress is also slated to discuss the challenges posed by Covid-19. The hike in the price of petroleum products is also likely to figure in the meeting.
The CWC meeting will begin at 11 am tomorrow.
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On Monday, a day before the meeting, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issued a statement saying that China is brazenly and illegally trying to claim parts of Indian territory such as the Galwan Valley and the Pangong Tso Lake “by committing multiple incursions between April 2020 till date”.
The former PM said the Centre’s actions will have serious bearings on “how future generations perceive us”.
Singh also said that Prime Minister Modi must be careful of the implications of his words and declarations on national security and also territorial interests.
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