Karnataka: Congress Government Has No Money to Buy Rice, Alleges Union Minister

Hubballi: Union Minister of Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi, has accused the Congress government of being unable to purchase rice, citing a lack of funds. He alleged that the state government has not developed the region and has increased prices of all commodities.

While interacting with journalists, Joshi stated that the Centre's decision to stop distributing rice and wheat to the state was not arbitrary, as claimed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He claimed that the state government had not released funds for the Gruhalakshmi scheme, old-age pension, and other welfare programs for the past two months.

Joshi also countered the Chief Minister's claim that the Centre had stopped distributing rice, saying that the first phase of rice distribution was till June 30, and the Centre had already distributed the available stock. He added that the distribution of rice would resume in July.

The Union Minister also took a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement that the party would defeat the BJP in Gujarat and Ayodhya. Joshi said that the Congress had lost in Ayodhya due to other reasons and not because of the BJP's strength. He claimed that the BJP had performed well in 123 assembly constituencies in Karnataka, despite the Congress being in power.

Joshi also announced that the price of rice had been reduced from Rs 34 per kilogram to Rs 28 per kilogram. He stated that the Centre had a stock of 330 lakh metric tons of rice and had allowed states and private individuals to purchase rice through the Open Market Support System (OMSS).

The Union Minister's allegations have sparked a fresh controversy in the state, with the Congress government likely to respond to the charges in the coming days.