Parkash Singh Badal terms Food Safety Ordinance as 'cover up exercise'

LUDHIANA: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today alleged that the "hasty move" of bringing the Food Safety Ordinance by the Congress-led UPA Government was aimed at "distracting" the attention of the people from the various scams and scandals unearthed during the regime.

Interacting with reporters here, the chief minister termed the ordinance as a "cover up exercise" of the inefficient UPA government.

He said that SAD was not opposed to it but the timing of the Ordinance indicated that the UPA government was trying to cash it into votes in the ensuing general elections.

Badal said that besides food, the countrymen were also facing a number of other problems but the UPA government had turned a "blind eye" towards it by adopting the "pro-rich and anti-poor" stance.

The chief minister claimed that it was on record that the SAD-BJP government of the state has the distinction of being the maiden state of the country to ensure food security to its people by starting the Atta-Dal scheme in its previous tenure.

He added that the exorbitant inflation during the tenure of UPA government has accentuated the woes of the common man thereby making his life miserable.