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Riding on the passage of the flagship food security bill despite a 'challenging economic environment,' Congress today hit out Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's development plank and took on socialist and Left parties saying they too did not come up with such a step.
'There is more than 30 % malnutrition in Gujarat. This is the situation of those who talk the maximum about development.
'Socialists and Leftists only talked about food as a right of the poor but did nothing to implment it when and where they came to power,' party spokesperson Bhakta Charan Das told reporters here.
Noting that the food security measure seeks to bridge the deficit in the humane face of development, Das also talked about other pro-poor measures taken by the Congress-led government including MNREGA.
He said Congress President Sonia Gandhi was pushing for the bill despite objections from some quarters and that the food bill became a reality after many a struggle.
Noting that hunger is the biggest enemy of the society, Das said 'government has fulfilled the pledge made to the poor. We express our thanks to the government that despite a challenging environment, the UPA government has fulfilled the Congress' concern.'
Congress has been pushing hard for the food security bill, which the party hopes to be vote-winning in next Lok Sabha polls on the line of MNREGA and farmers' loan waiver scheme which are credited with among other factors for bringing UPA II to power in 2009.
