PM’s Announcements: Grossly Inadequate
The announcements made by the Prime Minister yesterday are totally inadequate to meet the crisis of survival and livelihood being faced by crores of our people.
The announcements made by the Prime Minister yesterday are totally inadequate to meet the crisis of survival and livelihood being faced by crores of our people.
I strongly urge you as Food Minister to distribute these stocks free through the PDS.
Marxist, XXXIV, 2, April-June 2018
UTSA PATNAIK
Destroying Public Provisioning of Food in India
The Latest Neo-Imperialist Attack Through the WTO
Using the Agreement on Agriculture
The Background
Notified in September 2013 during the last leg of the UPA-II’s tenure, the National Food Security Act (NFSA) of 2013 has now been existence for more than 30 months. Although it kick started with 11 states/UTs (Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh Delhi, Haryana, HP, Karnataka, MP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Punjab) its progress has been slow and tardy.
To
Shri Asim Ahmed Khan
Minister for Food and Supply,
Government of N.C.T. of Delhi 7 August, 2015
Memorandum on Public Distribution System in Delhi
Dear Shri Khan,
The Polit Bureau strongly condemns the deliberate negligence of the Modi Government towards implementing and improving the Food Security Act and its expansion to ensure food security as well as nourishment to all Indians. This is all the more urgent in the light of the 2015 FAO report on the State of Food Insecurity.
The CPI(M) had wanted the central government to give utmost priority to this matter. However, the Union Government failed to bring in a proper legislation for nearly four years for the consideration of parliament, and now an ordinance is being promulgated. The ordinance route shows contempt for parliament and is anti-democratic.
This will have an adverse impact on increasing malnutrition and hunger. The CPI(M) strongly opposes such a policy shift away from provision of foodgrains, kerosene, fertilizers etc instead of providing for a universal PDS at controlled prices.
In order to intensify the campaign and widen the movement, the Left parties decided to conduct a countrywide mass signature campaign.The Left parties have given a call to collect five crore signatures. Members and activists of the Left parties will go house-to-house to collect signatures in the months of December 2012 and January 2013.
The CPI(M) strongly opposes the Government’s decision to sell 10 million tonnes of “surplus” foodstock to bulk consumers like flour millers and biscuit makers through auction under the open market sale scheme as a part of its supposed plan to tackle inflation and dispose the rising foodstocks. 2.5 million tonnes of grain will be allocated monthly through auction for the next four months on a “no profit, no loss basis”.