Hyderabad, June 6 (Representative) Telangana BJP unit President, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, MP, criticized the state government on Tuesday for its failure to address the demands of ration dealers. In a statement, Sanjay expressed his disappointment, stating, “It is shameful that the problems faced by ration dealers have remained unsolved for years. It is disheartening that the Chief Minister has not taken the time to engage with the ration dealers and discuss their concerns.” Despite issuing a strike notice on May 22, the state government made promises to resolve all the issues and release the Government Order (GO) by June 1. However, it is regrettable that as of today, not a single GO has been released. The ration dealers were compelled to go on strike due to the state government’s failure to fulfill its promises. The ongoing strike by the ration dealers has caused immense hardship for the underprivileged, who are now unable to access rice. Ration distribution has ceased for approximately 91 lakh families in the state.
Although the central government is distributing rice free of cost, the KCR government is neglecting its responsibility to provide it to the impoverished. “Ration dealers worked tirelessly even during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Narendra Modi government distributed free ration rice to 80 crore people across the country, the ration dealers in Telangana diligently served the poor by providing them with rice,” added Sanjay. Furthermore, Sanjay highlighted the issue of delayed commission payments to ration dealers. The central government contributes half of the commission amount, which is paid to the state government every three months. However, the state government’s failure to remit the payments on time and misusing the funds for their own purposes instead of disbursing them to the dealers is unacceptable. Sanjay emphasized the need for consultation and resolution of the issues with the ration dealers.