The Union Department of Food and Public Distribution has responded to Congress’ opposition to the Centre’s decision to discontinue the sale of rice and wheat from the central pool under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS). They have claimed that the decision was not taken suddenly and has been in the works for a while. According to the ministry officials, an inter-ministerial committee meeting was held on 8 June, which recommended that the sale of wheat and rice under OMSS for state governments be discontinued as there is a need to maintain sufficient stocks for market intervention and control prices. After the approval of the ministers’ committee, a letter was issued to all states and Food Corporation of India (FCI) on 13 June, informing them of the change in policy. The FCI regional office in Karnataka had already issued orders on 11 June for the sale of rice under OMSS on the request of the state government. The Centre’s decision to discontinue the sale of rice and wheat under OMSS is aimed at controlling food inflation and protecting consumers. This move has reduced the retail price of wheat by 2.06%.
Congress alleges that the Centre’s discontinuation of the sale of rice and wheat from the central pool under OMSS is because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is frustrated with the BJP’s defeat in the recent Karnataka Assembly polls. The Centre has already imposed restrictions on the sale of wheat under OMSS to states for a quantity of up to 10,000 metric tonnes only. The sale of rice under OMSS may continue for northeastern states, hilly states, and states facing law and order situations or natural calamities at the existing rate of Rs 3,400 per quintal. As a confidential exercise at the ministry level, the formulation of the policy was not known to the regional offices of FCI till its announcement. The Centre has clarified that its decision was not taken suddenly and has been in the works for a while and is focused on controlling food inflation.
