Senior BJP leaders are confident that the Union Cabinet will take a decision on Thursday to lower prices of foodgrains being distributed to those living below the poverty line through the public distribution system.
The confidence was being expressed a day after BJP president Bangaru Laxman had made an open appeal to the government to devise a method to make available large quantities of foodgrains to the poor.
A senior government source later confirmed that a Cabinet note has been circulated to that effect. However, a counter note is also said to have been circulated by the finance ministry which is opposed to lowering the PDS foodgrains prices for the poorest of the poor.
The exact nature of the proposal of the food ministry was not known, neither was the exact objections raised by the finance ministry. A group of ministers led by Union home minister L K Advani had recently failed to reach a consensus on how to lower PDS foodgrains prices.
Asked why was the government planning to lower the PDS prices only months after having raised it, a Union minister told Business Standard that this was due to the fact that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns were overflowing with grains due to poor lifting.
The poor lifting of foodgrains is a direct result of raising PDS foodgrain prices, bringing them equal to the open market prices of foodgrains.
The ongoing procurements of fresh crop has put additional burden on the government to make room for the fresh arrivals in the FCI godowns. The minister said that the main reason for lowering the prices was the calculation of the government that the resultant subsidy would be less than the carrying cost of the huge foodstocks pile.
While this might be the reason for the price reduction move, middle level BJP functionaries are watching government moves with great expectations. A price reduction can provide the much needed boost to the demoralised BJP in Uttar Pradesh which is bracing up to face Assembly elections in the next few months. The party changed chief ministers for the third time recently, installing Rajnath Singh in the place of Ram Prakash Gupta.
Inspite of senior leaders
