"Conversion of red colour ration cards to yellow arbitary"

AINRC Lok Sabha member R Radhakrishnan today dubbed as 'arbitrary' and 'unjustified' the government's conversion of red colour ration cards into yellow colour cards relating to a large number of families. He questioned the 'sudden conversion' without assigning the reason and said a number of poor families with red colour ration cards were now facing difficulty. Puducherry government introduced red colour ration cards for families under 'below poverty line' category while those in Above Poverty Line were issued yellow colour cards. There were allegations those who should have been under APL category were issued red colour cards dislocating the smooth functioning of the free rice scheme. The Department of Civil Supplies had issued circulars with names of card holders eligible to be under APL category but were holding red colour cards. The sudden display of names of families holding yellow colour cards and bringing them under red colour category had drawn criticism from various parties. Radhakrishnan demanded that the government allow the status quo to continue and the working of public distribution system (PDS) should also be smooth. He urged the government to scrap cases filed against those who resorted to agitations to protest against the conversion of cards recently. CPI(M) Secretary R Rajangam also flayed the government for attempting to 'dislocate' the PDS by adopting 'chaotic procedures'. He told newsmen today that the Congress government was toeing the line of the NDA government at the Centre to 'totally dismantle the PDS system by denying essential commodities to card holders.

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