This Article is From Sep 07, 2010

PM takes on Supreme Court over free grain order

New Delhi: His economy of words only amplified what the Prime Minister makes of his government receiving instructions from the Supreme Court on how to tackle the rotting food grain that's become a national sore point. "The Supreme Court should not get into the realm of policy formulation," said Dr Manmohan Singh.

A series of reports, most of them by NDTV, have founds lakhs of tons of food grain wasting away because there aren't enough warehouses for storage. In a country where children die of starvation, and many live with complications born of malnourishment, the inquest of the issue has been extensive. And so in August, the Supreme Court said Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar should figure out how to give away the excess food grain to poor families. Mr Pawar responded by saying what the court had offered was a suggestion, not an order. The court was quick to correct him.

The Prime Minister said on Monday that "an estimated 37 percent live below poverty line. How can free food be given to so many?" The government has informed the court that it has set aside an additional 25 lakh tons for distribution through ration shops.

The court seemed placated by this assurance. The Opposition was not.

"It is more of a humanitarian question.  What you do with your excess foodgrain - do you allow it to rot or give it to the poor?" asked the Left's Nilotpal Basu.

The National Advisory Council (NAC), led by Sonia Gandhi, has been focusing on a complex Right to Food campaign.

"We want to know what Sonia Gandhi has to say on this. Her focus is food security, the PM says 37 percent below poverty line can't be given foodgrain, so he is disowning Sonia's agenda," said the BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Both legal experts and politicians say the PM's strong comments weren't really necessary. They say it's not the constitutionality of the issue that's provocative - but the perceived absence of a humanitarian approach.
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