Congress surpasses stalemate over FSB to launch scheme in 4 states

Congress President Sonia Gandhi unveils food scheme in Delhi coinciding with Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary

Despite the Congress’ frantic attempts, the Food Security bill could not be taken up in Parliament today. An angry Congress squarely blamed the Opposition BJP for stalling the bill by derailing the house over missing files in the Coal scam.

Nonetheless, Congress President Sonia Gandhi unveiled the Food scheme in Delhi coinciding with Rajiv Gandhi’s birth anniversary. Food minister K V Thomas at the function today even publicly blamed Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for “delaying” the bill.

The Congress has been alluding to the ‘Modi hand’ in delaying the bill which has been pitted as a “game changer” for the Congress. The Food scheme was also launched today in Congress ruled Haryana and Uttarakhand and Arunchal Pradesh.

Although the BJP had assured the government of its support for the Food bill in Parliament; Modi had dashed off a letter to Food minister Thomas demanding that a meeting of all state chief ministers be called as it needed wider discussions.

Senior Congress leaders believe that with Modi’s growing clout within the party, the BJP was now dragging its feet over its assurance of support.

KV Thomas while speaking at the launch ceremony in the capital today said, “Modi wrote to me that the bill must be discussed again. He is trying to delay the bill, trying to deny people their rights.”

The Congress President who launched the scheme in Delhi which goes to polls later this year, described the Food bill as “unparalleled” in the world.

The Congress camp had made all attempts to clear the road blocks in the path of this bill. Food minister and Parliamentary Affairs minister Kamal Nath had met Mulayam Singh Yadav yesterday to assure him that the Samajwad Party’s concerns would be assuaged. Kamal Nath had stated that amendments would be moved in the bill.

Attempts had also been made to reach out to the TDP which had been disrupting the house over the Telangana issue but as today’s proceedings in the Lok Sabha showed, there was no relenting by the TDP members.

Since morning the BJP benches were on their feet demanding the government answer over the missing files in the Coalscam. They wanted no one less than the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself make a statement on the issue.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned repeatedly due to the disruptions, twice before noon and then till 1 pm after and then again till post lunch. At 2pm when the Opposition benches did not relent and sloganeering continued, it was adjourned for the day.

Both the JD(U) and the SP today made conciliatory noises saying that they would be extending support to the bill if certain amendments were made.  

Likely amendments in the Food bill

According to sources, some of the key amendments that figure in the bill include, the implementation period has been extended from 6 months to one year.

One of the SP’s major demands is that the bill should be ‘farmer friendly’, sources indicate that the government has assured that it will procure whatever is produced by the farmer.

States like Tamil Nadu and Chattisgarh where there is already a food security scheme in place, the government has assured that the existing coverage will be protected.

Highly placed sources confirmed that other demands of political parties like 100 % coverage of the population and increasing the entitlements from 5 kg to 7 kg per person would not be feasible.

Senior Congress leaders are even of the view that should the BJP try to scuttle the bill in this session itself, it would not damage the Congress too much as the Ordinance is in vogue and can be re-promulgated after it lapses in mid November.