Mulayam Singh Yadav speaking in Parliament
Sonia Gandhi today described the government's Food Security Bill as an integral part of "an empowerment revolution" but the BJP said the proposal is steeped in shortcomings and key ally Mulayam Singh Yadav said the Bill should not be passed without calling a meeting of all chief ministers.
"Why didn't you bring this Bill earlier when poor people were dying of hunger? Is this for elections or for the hungry?" asked Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh as the Lok Sabha debated the Food Bill.
But despite criticism voiced during the debate, the government won crucial support for its flagship measure by agreeing to changes broadly acceptable to the opposition as well as allies.
BSP chief Mayawati and the opposition Janata Dal-United said they would support the Bill, ahead of voting expected after 7:30 pm.
The Food Bill aims to provide cheap food to nearly 70 per cent of India's population at the cost of 1.25 lakh crores, and is the Congress's main lifeline as it tries to win a third straight term in next year's elections.
Making a rare speech in Parliament for the Bill she championed, Sonia Gandhi called it India's chance to make history. She countered the BJP's political arguments with an emotional pitch, saying, "The question is not whether we can do it or not. We have to do it."
Her argument was simple - there are hungry children and "poor brothers and sisters" and they must have a "legal right to food."
The Congress president admitted there are shortcomings in the schemes of the government her party leads, and said, "We will have to remove the faults."
Speaking before her, the BJP's Murli Manohar Joshi said, "It's not food security, but a vote securing Bill," accusing the government of timing it to benefit the Congress in general elections now months away.
To ensure that the Bill was debated today, the government had to promise that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will "intervene" in a discussion on missing coal files.