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Even as the Opposition was trying to put the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on the mat over the recent spate of scams, the government on Monday moved the Food Security Bill in the Lok Sabha.
The Opposition seemed to have been caught off-guard when Congress leader Girija Vyas, who was in the Chair, took up the Bill for consideration.
A brief debate followed amid ruckus, with members from the Left parties and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denouncing the "dictatorial ways" of the government to push through the legislation when Parliament was paralysed over various scams.
BJP members were so agitated that they started thumping the side table of the presiding officer to draw the attention of Vyas, who ignored their protest.
Dinesh Trivedi of the Trinamool said the Bill seeks to reduce below poverty line families' entitlement to foodgrains from 35 kg to 25 kg per household per month. He said studies show a household comprising two adults and as many children requires 50 kg of foodgrain in a month.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader T R Baalu said the party was opposed to the passage of the Bill in its present form and without any discussion. He demanded the Bill be placed before Parliament for proper discussion and only then put to vote.
Food Minister K V Thomas termed the Bill a 'historic' one. "The Bill marked a paradigm shift in food security from welfare to a right-based approach," he said. He added the total estimated foodgrain requirement is 6.123 million tonnes and the corresponding estimated food subsidy for implementing the Bill in FY14 is about Rs 1,24,747 crore. According to him, the additional food subsidy would be Rs 23,800 per annum.
The Bill aims to give a uniform quantity of 5 kg of foodgrains at Rs 1-3 per kg via ration shops to 67 per cent of the population.
Earlier, Thomas had said there were no plans to take the Ordinance route to implement the Bill, in case the government fails to get it passed in the House. The inconclusive discussion saw Sanjay Nirupam (Congress), Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress), Sanjeev Naik (Nationalist Congress Party) and Bhakta Charan Das (Congress) speaking briefly on the proposed measure.
