Bengaluru, Oct 16 (NationPress) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated on Thursday that he understands the struggles of hunger and the significance of food, which motivated him to launch the Anna Bhagya scheme.

He made these remarks while inaugurating the World Food Day event organized by the Department of Food and Civil Supplies at the Banquet Hall in Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru.

“I am aware of the pain of hunger and the importance of food. This is the reason behind the introduction of the Anna Bhagya scheme... Renowned Kannada poet D.R. Bendre referred to farmers as ‘Anna Brahma (God of Food)’. Hence, wasting or discarding food is a dishonor to Anna Brahma,” he emphasized.

“In the past, we relied on America for food grains. Today, we have progressed to the point of exporting food to other countries. However, along with this achievement, the level of food waste has also increased, which is concerning,” he noted.

The Chief Minister mentioned that in Bengaluru alone, 943 tonnes of food is squandered each year, amounting to approximately ₹360 crore, as per a study conducted by the University of Agricultural Sciences (GKVK).

“To intentionally waste food is to display arrogance against it... Such wastefulness is a sinful act,” he recalled Mahatma Gandhi’s profound words.

“The Congress party is devoted to ensuring that no one sleeps hungry. This is why we have initiated pro-poor schemes. It was Congress Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who enacted the Food Security Act, which was met with strong opposition from the BJP. The BJP’s ideology is anti-poor. People need to recognize this. Do not applaud the BJP while simultaneously supporting Congress’s pro-poor initiatives. Understand that it is Congress that is committed to providing food security,” he urged.

“We will take stringent measures against anyone hoarding Anna Bhagya rice for black market sales. To combat these practices, we have decided to distribute 5 kg of rice along with an extra 5 kg of pulses and grains,” the Chief Minister announced.

“It is the government’s, society’s, and every citizen’s responsibility to raise awareness about food and safeguard small farmers,” he added.

During the event, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar remarked, “Previously, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image was displayed at all petrol pumps for the free gas scheme, but that has now ceased. The price of cooking gas has surged from ₹400 to ₹1,100. The cost of everything has escalated while incomes have declined.”

“In response, we have rolled out guarantee schemes. We allocate ₹53,000 crore annually for this. Even if prime ministers and other leaders criticize our schemes, they ultimately replicate them to maintain political power. In Bihar, even before elections were announced, ₹10,000 was transferred into women’s accounts. This highlights that people’s fundamental food needs are critically important,” he stated.

He added, “We are among the few nations in Asia and worldwide where people consume freshly cooked meals. In many Western countries, individuals depend on junk food, bread, and fast food. Our nation has achieved self-sufficiency in food production and has the capacity to export. We produce more milk than Gujarat. Our government’s programs are centered around the people and serve as models for the nation.”

In 2013, then-Chief Minister Siddaramaiah initiated the “Anna Bhagya” scheme in Karnataka to provide subsidized rice to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, a key promise made by the Congress party during its electoral campaign that year. Initially, it offered 30 kilograms of rice per household for only ₹1 per kilogram.

The Congress-led government, after assuming office in 2023, declared free distribution of 10 kilograms of rice for all members of BPL families in the state under the Anna Bhagya free rice scheme.

However, due to the misuse of rice allocated to beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) and to promote better consumption diversity, the Karnataka government recently decided to provide an “Indira food kit” to approximately 1.26 crore households in the state, instead of the 5 kilograms of rice currently distributed under the Anna Bhagya scheme.