Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party government of the state is misleading the people of Punjab on the ration card issue.The statement given by the Chief Minister regarding the cancellation of 55 lakh ration cards is completely false.
This allegation was made by Punjab BJP General Secretary Anil Sarin in Chandigarh today. He was accompanied by State Co-Treasurer Sukhwinder Singh Goldy, State Spokesperson SS Channi, and State Media Head Vineet Joshi.
Anil Sarin said that the AAP government’s claim of cutting 55 lakh ration cards is 100 percent false. He revealed that the Supreme Court has made e-KYC mandatory under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and regarding this, the central government has written 21 letters to the state government after March 17, 2023.
A letter from the Union Minister on May 30, 2025, also clearly stated that 31 extensions have been given so far. Despite this, the Punjab Chief Minister’s statement that the Center is pressuring is completely baseless.
In fact, under the NFSA Act, the Center does not have the authority to cancel the name of any ration card holder. This authority lies with the state governments. Only they can add or remove the names of ration card holders.
*BJP leader also releases data on irregularities in ration distribution*
Data obtained by BJP leader Anil Sarin was also released.
This includes: Duplicate Beneficiaries: 10,147; Silent Ration Cards (those not taking ration for 12 months): 21,317; Deceased Beneficiaries: 7,511; Single Person Ration Cards for those under 18 years of age: 1,570; Beneficiaries with income over 6 lakh: 94,471; Beneficiaries with gross income over 20 lakh: 896; Beneficiaries with four-wheeled vehicles: 13,997; Directors of Private Limited Companies: 5,399.
Anil Sarin questioned, who took the ration on the cards of these 7,511 deceased people? This makes it clear that the manipulation is being done by the AAP government itself. The AAP government is only misleading Punjab on the ration card issue.
Anil Sarin alleged that just as people opposed the land pooling policy, in its frustration, the AAP government is now playing with the rightsb of the people by making an issue of ration cards.