Chennai: Slamming theĀ ‘one nation, one ration card’ system of the Centre, DMK president MK Stalin said it was against federalism.
The central government led by BJP had assured that under the system,Ā beneficiaries can buy subsidised food grain from ration shops in any part of the country. The deadline for the States and Union Territories to initiate the system was till 30 June 2020.
According to Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan,Ā the new system would ensure that no poor was deprived of PDS entitlement if he or she shifts from one place to another. It would also help the government weed out fake ration card holders, added Paswan.
Urging the Centre to give up on the scheme, Stalin said in a statement, “Public distribution is a fundamental right of state governments. The Union food minister does not understand the repercussions that would follow if such a right is infringed upon.”
He further alleged that the Modi government was trying to establish dominance and uproot federalism by implementing such initiatives.
Meanwhile, AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran too opposed the scheme. He said the PDS system would completely collapseĀ if migrants were allocated a substantial amount of foodgrainĀ as the locals would undergo hardship. The State is already facing financial burden because of theĀ Food Security Act, he claimed.
Both Stalin and Dhinakaran urged theĀ AIADMK government led by Palaniswamy to oppose the scheme in the initial stage itself.