K'taka BJP takes first step towards renaming Anna Bhagya scheme

Bengaluru, Nov 14 The ruling BJP in Karnataka took a tentative step on Friday towards renaming Congress' flagship programme - Anna Bhagya - to Mukhyamantri Annapoorna Yojane (scheme) in the days to come.

Karnataka Agriculture Price Commission chairman Hanumanagouda Belagurki submitted four reports 'Mukhya Mantri Annapoorna Yojana', a commentary of recommendations to improve 'Pradhana Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)', 'Farmers Suicide - the Grievances of Affected Farm Women - the hardships and relief measures', and 'Cost of Cultivation of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops, quantity of production, present status of market prices and analysis of the recent Market Acts 2019-2020' to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.

The Anna Bhagya scheme is the name given to a programme launched by the previous Congress government in 2013 to distribute rice, jawar, ragi and other food grains through the public distribution system (PDS). Now the BJP is contemplating to rebrand and relaunch the scheme.

A senior BJP leader told on condition of anonymity that Anna Bhagya is a programme that has a mass appeal and the ruling party can neither shut it down or continue with the same name.

"We need to relaunch the scheme by rebranding it. That is what the Congress under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had done in 2013. Giving free food grains was popularised by former Andhra Pradesh CM N.T. Ramarao when he came to power there for the first time. Since then, time and again the ruling parties across the country have adopted the strategy of relaunching this scheme in different names," he explained.

The leader added that the ruling BJP is yet to announce this scheme officially as the government has taken the first step towards it by accepting the report submitted by Belagurki.

( With inputs from IANS )

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