Maharashtra: Congress asks govt to provide ration to APL card holders

Congress asked the Maharashtra government on Thursday to provide food subsidy to above poverty level (APL) card holders who have been left out of the Food Security Act since November last year.

Congress asked the Maharashtra government on Thursday to provide food subsidy to above poverty level (APL) card holders who have been left out of the Food Security Act since November last year.

"People above poverty line (APL) do not get ration from public distribution system (PDS) shops since this government came to power," Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) president Sanjay Nirupam told reporters after leading a protest at the rationing office in Kandivali in North Mumbai.

MRCC activists staged protests at 39 rationing offices in Mumbai on Thursday, Nirupam said.

"We told them that if they (BJP government) don't do it in 15 days, we will take to the streets. We will storm into ministers' houses," he said.

Almost five lakh APL card holders use the benefit in Mumbai, which has been stopped since November, he said.

"The government says that only those with biometric cards will get ration. This process takes six months, but until then, the needy should get rations based on their old cards," he said.