BJP promises rice, salt, pulses at INR 1 in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, April 13 (IANS): Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will provide rice, dal and salt at INR 1 per kg to 3.26 crore people if the party came to power in Odisha. "If the BJP comes to power in Odisha, it will provide 5 kg rice, 500 gram dal and an equal amount of salt to 3.26 crore beneficiaries at Rs 1 per kg under the National Food Security Scheme (NFSA)," Pradhan said while addressing an election rally in Choudwar, Cuttack district, on Saturday. Under the NFSA, 5 kg rice is provided at subsidised price and the Odisha government is providing rice at Re 1 per kg to the poor. The Minister said the central government is giving INR 29 subsidy on every kg of rice, while the state's share was only INR 2. The beneficiary is paying just Re1 to buy a kg of rice, priced at INR 31 per kg, he added. He said "people have made up their mind to uproot the corrupt government from Odisha and establish the BJP's double-engine government". He said the BJP government would upgrade all the hospitals in in Odisha and appoint doctors to provide better health care facility. It would also expand the irrigation network through a dedicated fund of INR 1 lakh crore and enhance cold storage facilities, he added.