Centre should bear expense of food bill: UP minister

LUCKNOW: A day after Congress attacked the Uttar Pradesh government for its "inability" to implement the food bill, the Samajwadi Party-led regime today hit back and asked the Centre to bear the entire expense of the scheme.

"Implementation of Food Security Act will put a lot of economic burden on the states. Centre should be ready to bear all expense for its implementation. The allegation that UP does not want to implement it is baseless," Food and Civil Supplies minister Rajendra Chowdhury said here.

Congress state in-charge Madhusudan Mistry had yesterday claimed that Uttar Pradesh government had expressed its inability to implement the food security scheme in the state before July next year.

Chowdhury alleged that the Act was passed in a haste by the Centre with a motive to gain political mileage.

"The Centre want to pat its back by passing the burden in its implementation to the states," he said.