Belagavi: The Karnataka government on Monday issued a strict warning to people possessing Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards, in spite of being disqualified on account of owning either a two-wheeler, TV, fridge or over five acres of land and asked them to surrender their cards before March 31 or face legal action.
"There are parameters for possessing a BPL card. They should not have more than five acres of land, motorcycle, TV or fridge. Those who don't qualify on these parameters should return the cards or else we will do it,"
While addressing in a press conference here, Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister Umesh Katti stated that those earning more than Rs 1.20 lakh annually should not use the BPL cards and should return it before March 31. However, the remarks of the Karnataka government didn't go well with the Congress party which staged demonstrations in front of various ration shops in Bengaluru against it.
According to a party leader, the Congress workers also protested in Dharwad, Mysuru and Tumakuru districts of the state. Congress MLA UT Khader today slammed the remarks made by Khatti and said that this issue had come up before him when he was the Food and Civil Supplies Minister in the Siddaramaiah government.
However, he had decided not to relax the norms as many poor people would be affected calling the BJP government in the state 'anti-poor', Khader asked the BS Yediyurappa administration to focus on identifying more beneficiaries instead of 'snatching away' their BPL cards. He said that when there are offers like interest-free loans to purchase all these items, it was obvious that people would buy it
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