Now, CPM puts govt in rice cooker

NEW DELHI: Six months after a Union cabinet decision to cut food subsidy was put on hold under pressure from allies, the government and the Left seem to be heading for a confrontation over PDS prices.

Dubbing as “retrograde” proposals on food management, the CPM on Sunday warned the government against taking any steps to reduce food grain quota or increase prices for grain routed through the PDS.

The CPM wants the government to reject a note prepared by the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution for the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on ‘prudent food management’ In a statement, the party politburo described the note as a “serious assault on the Public Distribution System, food security and food self sufficiency.”

The party said it recommended increasing prices of food grains for BPL and APL categories, cutting allocations to both these sections of ration card holders and cutting down the food grain component in employment generation schemes.

“It is a clear violation of the assurances made on this issue in the CMP of the UPA government,” it said. The recommendation means a reduction of as much as 60.5 lakh tonne of wheat and combined with an increase in prices this envisages a ‘so-called’ saving of Rs 5,814 crore in food subsidy, the statement said.

Recalling that it had opposed the food subsidy cut in January, the CPM said the prices of essential commodities, including wheat, had shot up since then.

“At a time when every measure has to be taken to protect the working people, the large majority of whom are in the unorganised sector, where there is no dearness allowance, acceptance of these anti-poor recommendations will have a disastrous impact on the livelihood of crores of people and add to the inflationary trends,” the CPM argued.

It also said the cuts in the food grain component of the SGRY and the refusal to include food grains in the rural employment guarantee scheme will mean lowering real wages of those working in such projects.

Reminding the government that Parliament was near unanimous against weakening of PDS and raising prices, the party suggested states may be consulted in replacing some quantity of wheat with rice or coarse grains.

But, it asserted there should be no move to cut the food grains quota. The Left parties, the DMK and a section within Congress had opposed the Centre’s decision to cut Rs 4,524-crore food subsidy by lowering quantity of food grains under PDS and increasing prices for APL category.

While keeping on ‘hold’ the decision, the PM had made it clear that it was not a rollback and that he would discuss the issue with the Congress and the Left parties.