The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew its plan to distribute ‘Bharat Rice’ in Kerala’s Palakkad district on Friday, March 29, after the Communist Party of India (Marxist) members filed a complaint with the district collector, who is also the election officer.
According to the complaint filed by CPI(M), BJP members circulated posters of the rice distribution event with pictures of PM Narendra Modi and Palakkad Lok Sabha constituency candidate C Krishnakumar. The posters said that Bharat Rice will be distributed in the Kodumbu junction, a village in Palakkad, at 8 am on March 29. The Union government had introduced Bharat Rice at a subsidised price of Rs 29 per kg to provide relief to consumers after retail prices of the grain was hiked by 15% in 2023.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister of Kerala GR Anil had said that the Union government told the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the state department to erect flex boards with Narendra Modi’s photo in 10,000 ration shops across Kerala. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on February 12 told the legislative assembly that the state would not implement such a directive and called it an election stunt.
