Not all APL people are diabetic, they should get sugar: MLAs

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 9: Shortage of ration especially sugar and kerosene oil in various parts of the State today rocked Legislative Assembly with some MLAs including ruling PDP and People’s Conference saying not all people were suffering from diabetes that the Government has stopped supply of sugar while Independent MLA Pawan Gupta staged a walk-out on the issue.
PDP MLA and former Minister Abdul Majid Padder, who had raised the question, countered Law and Rural Development Minister Abdul Haq Khan, who was replying on behalf of CAPD&FS Minister Zulfikar Choudhary, that there was no complaint of ration shortage.
“I’m the complainant,’’ Padder said.
He said the people were not getting ration.
“Everyone is not diabetic in Jammu and Kashmir that the Government has stopped supply of sugar to them,’’ Padder remarked.
CPM MLA MY Tarigami, raising a supplementary, wanted to know whether these were the ‘achhe din’ promised by the Government that the people were not getting sugar and kerosene oil.
National Conference MLA and former Minister Mian Altaf said till 2014, people were getting sugar.
“Now, there has been confusion. Even BPL (Below Poverty Line) people are not getting sugar. What this Government is doing’’?, Altaf asked.
Ruling People’s Conference MLA Advocate Bashir Ahmad Dar alleged pilferage of kerosene oil.
He wanted to know whether all APL (Above Poverty Line) people have turned diabetic that the Government has stopped supply of sugar to them.
Independent MLA Pawan Gupta reached into Well of the House while trying to raise a supplementary on ration shortage and later walked-out.
In his reply, Haq Khan said the Government has divided people into priority and non-priority areas.
“The priority people were getting sugar while non-priority people were not getting sugar at this stage,’’ he said.
In the written reply, the Government said they were providing ration at subsidized rates to more than 58 lakh individuals in the State.
Haq Khan said the State Government was providing ration to nearly 20 lakh individuals in the Kashmir region and to about 38 lakh individuals in the Jammu region.
He told the Assembly that more than 78,000 individuals in Noorabad constituency were receiving ration at subsidized rates under the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Food Entitlement Scheme.
Haq said the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution had scrapped the subsidy on sugar in April last year, but the State Government decided to provide sugar at subsidized rates to priority households.
He said there was no proposal to provide sugar at subsidized rates to non-priority households.
Meanwhile, Congress legislator Usman Majeed and Independent MLA Engineer Rashid today strongly raised in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly the issue of four cricketers being detained for allegedly playing the Pakistani national anthem before a cricket match in Bandipora district on Sunday.
Majeed urged the State Government to “pardon” the young cricketers, while Rashid tried to defend them and protested in the House. Rashid was subsequently marshalled out of the House.
“I say sorry on their behalf in the House,” Majeed said.
“They should be pardoned and cases against them should be withdrawn, as the Government has withdrawn cases against stone pelters… We want our youth to take a positive direction,” he said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested the four cricketers after a video surfaced on the Internet, purportedly showing the young men playing Pakistan’s national anthem ahead of a match.
Speaking to reporters later, Majeed strongly batted for their release. He said the cricketers might have acted under pressure from mischievous elements during the cricket match.
“The police is after them. Some of them are in jail and others are on the run as media has given a lot of attention… I have raised the issue before the Government to pardon them,” he said.
Raising the issue, MLA Rashid protested in the House and was soon marshaled out of the Assembly on the direction of the Speaker.
Later, he told reporters that his colleague in the House, Majeed, should not have apologized for the cricketers.
“Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had been seeking votes for last eight years by displaying green clothes. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed thanked Pakistan and militants for his victory in the elections. An FIR should be registered against Mehbooba Mufti if you have registered FIR against the cricketers,” Rashid said.

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