Gadkari launches Rs 2/kg wheat scheme

Asking party leaders to regard politics as a tool for social and economic uplift of the downtrodden, BJP president Nitin Gadkari today said state governments should ensure that schemes for the weaker sections are "transparent" and "free from corruption". Launching the "Atal Khaddyanna Yojana" which envisages providing wheat at the rate of Rs 2 per kg while rice at Rs. 3 per kg, Gadkari said it would benefit around 30 lakh people in Uttarakhand and has a potential to emerge as a "model" scheme for other states.

"If you are in politics, your aim should not be just to become an MLA, a Minister or a Chief Minister. Instead you should aim at eradicating poverty and providing each and every person with food, clothing and a shelter," he said. Gadkari said the governments should ensure that such schemes are "leak proof". "There should be complete transparency and no corruption should be tolerated." The scheme, launched from 27 different centres in the state on the death anniversary of Bhartiya Jana Sangh ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya, covers both the categories of the Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL). Gadkari said that his party regarded politics as a "tool" for social and economic uplift of the downtrodden. "Our agriculture minister says that foodgrains worth around Rs 58,000 crore rot every year in godowns. If this is the case why then the foodgrains are not distributed among the poor who need it the most," said the BJP chief. Even if the country is fast developing, the survey reports of Planning Commission "are disappointing. Almost 50 per cent of population survives on a meagre income which is even below Rs 90 per day while food inflation is rising at staggering 18 per cent thus forcing people to take their own lives due to poverty and hunger," Gadkari said.