There will be no change in the eligibility criteria for below poverty line families getting ration cards, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Umesh Katti said in Belagavi on Monday.
He was responding to criticism from BJP MLA Somashekar Reddy and others on social media platforms against his statement that the government will weed out ineligible beneficiaries.
He announced in Belagavi on Saturday that families with an annual income of over ₹1.2 lakh or those who have five acres of land or those have a TV or a refrigerator were not eligible. He set a deadline of March 30 for surrender of such cards, failing which the government will identify and cancel them, he said.
“I have not made these rules. These rules have been there for many years. I have not changed any of them. Nor will I change them now,” he said.
He lost his temper when journalists asked him for his reaction to opposition from his own party leaders against his statement. He said that he did not owe an answer to anyone and walked away.
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