New Delhi:
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will meet the party's state chiefs today to discuss the Food Security Bill, a legislation that the government believes may be a game-changer in the run-up to the 2014 elections.
Fourteen Congress-led states are expected to roll out the UPA's ambitious food security scheme from August 20, which is former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary.
Keen to spread the message of the bill across the country, party president Sonia Gandhi held consultations with chief ministers of all Congress-ruled states on July 13 where she asked them to expeditiously implement the food security scheme in "letter and spirit."
Earlier this month, the government rushed through an ordinance that has to be now ratified within six weeks of its tabling in Parliament. The ordinance is already in trouble with the main opposition, BJP, also seeking changes and accusing the government of trying to bypass a debate in Parliament by bringing in an ordinance.
The Rs. 1.25 lakh crore welfare scheme aims to give cheap food to nearly 70 per cent of the population, and has been planned as a centre-piece of the ruling Congress party's plan to win a third term in power. The ambitious scheme, championed by Mrs Gandhi, will raise the annual food subsidy spending by 45 per cent. Under the scheme, rice will be available at Rs. 3 a kilogram, and wheat at Rs. 2 a kilogram. The monthly supply ranges from three to seven kilograms per person, depending on their level of income.
The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme and the Food Security Act are being considered as major moves by Congress ahead of 2014 like the farmers' loan waiver scheme and MNREGA announced during its previous term. Both were credited among other things for the return of UPA to power in 2009.
Fourteen Congress-led states are expected to roll out the UPA's ambitious food security scheme from August 20, which is former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary.
Keen to spread the message of the bill across the country, party president Sonia Gandhi held consultations with chief ministers of all Congress-ruled states on July 13 where she asked them to expeditiously implement the food security scheme in "letter and spirit."
Earlier this month, the government rushed through an ordinance that has to be now ratified within six weeks of its tabling in Parliament. The ordinance is already in trouble with the main opposition, BJP, also seeking changes and accusing the government of trying to bypass a debate in Parliament by bringing in an ordinance.
The Rs. 1.25 lakh crore welfare scheme aims to give cheap food to nearly 70 per cent of the population, and has been planned as a centre-piece of the ruling Congress party's plan to win a third term in power. The ambitious scheme, championed by Mrs Gandhi, will raise the annual food subsidy spending by 45 per cent. Under the scheme, rice will be available at Rs. 3 a kilogram, and wheat at Rs. 2 a kilogram. The monthly supply ranges from three to seven kilograms per person, depending on their level of income.
The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme and the Food Security Act are being considered as major moves by Congress ahead of 2014 like the farmers' loan waiver scheme and MNREGA announced during its previous term. Both were credited among other things for the return of UPA to power in 2009.
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