Attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the proposed Food Security Bill, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the bill, in its current form, will push the country toward "malnutrition".
In a letter to the Prime Minister written on August 7, Modi claimed that the National Food Security Ordinance (NFSO) promulgated by the Centre, which is likely to be passed in Parliament as the Food Security Bill, has inherent flaws and deficiencies, since it fails to address both calorific and nutritional security of the poor.
"In a nation concerned about meeting nutritional requirements, it is a bill that will push the nation towards malnutrition. The proposed Food Security Bill will keep the poor hungry and snatch away his food," he said.
The Gujarat chief minister said that below poverty line families which get 35 kg of foodgrains at present, would henceforth get only 25 kg under the proposed Bill. "Your PM's policy makers are not aware of commoners' plight, nor are they aware of their living conditions.
That is why people from your government announce that we can get a meal for Rs 5 or Rs 12," Modi said. "This mindset gets reflected in the Bill too. Prime Ministerji, you are an economist and the earlier you understand the economics of a poor man's meals, the brighter will be the possibilities of him getting food," he said in the letter.
"The most backward are not going to benefit from your bill. Instead, because of your new Food Security Bill, the below poverty line families are going to be burdened further," the Gujarat chief minister added.
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