The Congress party played the Food Security Card to blunt the Opposition’s campaign on corruption and price rise in the Lok Sabha elections ahead.
This is going to be its major poll plank in the coming electoral battle against the divided Opposition, which is heavily banking on incumbency, scams and scandals in UPA-2.
The Congress spin doctors view that this piece of legislation would bring the party closer to the poor, depressed sections of the society which have been the core political constituency of the Grand Old Party.
The party had won two Lok Sabha elections on the slogans of the “Congress ka haath, Aam Admi ke saath” and on MNREGA, waiving agriculture loans.
According to a high profile Union minister of the Congress, the success of the food security programme will depend on how and when it will be implemented. But the good monsoon has assured a record food grain production.
Another Union minister said, “The national food security bill will be named after Rajiv Gandhi. This will prevent the Opposition ruled state governments to project this as their programme, “ said a Union minister on Monday.
The Congress party brought this bill at a time when the main Opposition BJP is playing the Hindutva card, besides anti-incumbency while regional parties which have stopped the Congress and the BJP to come to power on their own since 1996, are pegging their hopes that anti incumbency, inflation and Hindutva would work against the two national parties.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday said “Our goal is to wipe out hunger and malnutrition.”
The food security bill is the fifth in a series of steps which provides legal entitlements to people, she said.