‘Rich’ must give up BPL ration cards before govt acts: K’taka CM

Shivamogga (Karnataka), Feb 16 : Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Tuesday directed Deputy Commissioners to initiate action against ‘rich’ people who are in possession of Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards.
His direction came two days after Food and Civil Supplies Minister Umesh Katti came under fierce attack from party leaders over his remarks on BPL ration card eligibility.
Yediyurappa told reporters that many affluent people have violated rules and secured BPL cards and his government had been kind enough to give adequate time to surrender such cards voluntarily.
“We need to maintain proper supply of grain under Public Distribution Scheme (PDS) to eligible beneficiaries and action has to be taken to prevent misuse of the benefits by ineligible persons,” he said.
He added that all ineligible BPL ration card holders must return the card voluntarily, if they do not want to face legal action.
Responding to a question, he said that the BJP government had not changed any rules and it was implementing the same eligibility criteria that had been in existence since 2017.