Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had arrived in Telangana on Friday, 2 September. During this, he expressed displeasure over not having a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a government ration shop. She then asked District Collector Jitesh Patel to put PM Modi’s picture on the flexiboards of ration shops.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman was talking to the beneficiaries at the Public Distribution System (PDS) shops at Birkur in Kamareddy district. During this, she saw that the photo of PM Modi was not installed at the ration shop. In such a situation, she questioned the officials of the Civil Supplies Department and the District Collectorate why the picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is missing from the shops.
However, the officials present on the spot could not answer the questions of the Finance Minister. After which Sitharaman said, “Why there is no PM’s photo, find out and tell it in half an hour and get PM Modi’s photo installed.”
Interacting with the beneficiaries at a ration shop in Birkur, she said that for each kg of ration, the center pays Rs 29 for rice. Whereas the state pays only Rs.4 and the beneficiary Rs.1. At the same time, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government has targeted the Finance Minister for questioning the photo of PM Modi. It is known that the Union Minister reached there on September 1 on a three-day visit to the Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency under the ruling BJP’s Parliament migration scheme.
Telangana Health Minister T Harish Rao said in this matter that it is unfair to ask the Finance Minister to keep PM Modi’s photo in ration shops. According to him, only 50 to 55 per cent of the cardholders are supplied 10 kg of rice every month under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) at Rs 3 per kg. The remaining 45-50 per cent cardholders are supplied by the Telangana government at their own expense.
Harish Rao said, “It’s ridiculous, what the Finance Minister is talking about brings down the Prime Minister’s status. But she was telling people as if all the rice (which is given free) was being given by her (the Centre).
KTR tweeted on Friday night, “I am shocked by the misbehavior of Finance Minister Sitharaman with the District Magistrate/District Magistrate of Kamareddy.” Will only lower morale. My best wishes on the dignified behavior of Indian Administrative Service officer Jitesh V Patil.