'Why Delhi govt seeks to partner with private firms for doorstep delivery of ration?'

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi has accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government of raising an army of middlemen in the name of doorstep delivery of ration.

"Instead of improving the condition of 2,000 odd ration shops by linking them with Aadhaar and making them modern, the Kejriwal government's intention seems to be using these middlemen for sending ration to these shops.

Whether ration reaches its destination is secondary as long as he keeps getting his share from these middlemen," Lekhi said.

Former Delhi BJP Chief and MLA Vijender Gupta said "E-PoS devices have been installed all over the country by the Centre. In Delhi, however, the scheme was withdrawn, after implementing it once. This was a flagrant example of corruption."

Gupta also pointed out that the Kejriwal government had implemented the E-PoS system in January 2018, after which, four lakh fake ration card holders were identified and instead of weeding them out, his government had put the scheme in cold storage in April 2018.

Raising doubts over Kejriwal's government's intent, Gupta asked why the Delhi government wishes to handover Rs 1,000 crore worth ration received from the central government annually, to the private companies.

"What is the guarantee that the ration would reach the intended beneficiary and not be siphoned off," he said.

Gupta also added that the doorstep delivery system that is to be operated by private companies reeks of corruption.