... Chief Minister [H.D. Kumaraswamy] told presspersons that the number of applicants for BPL cards had touched 93 lakh [9.3 million] while the total number of families in Karnataka was 1.02 crore [10.2 million].
I don't think I need to note that "BPL" expands to "Below Poverty Line".
The Chief Minister further warned that "stringent action" will be taken "against those responsible for what has been described as a 'BPL card scandal'."
nothing to be surprised about - this is the norm rather than the exception in india. in andhra pradesh, for instance, there are around 1.68 crore families, more than 1.4 crore bpl cards and over 2 crore cards overall.
ReplyDeletei definitely hope a certain blogger who used to wax eloquent about how helpful the pds was to the poor before narasimha rao reads this post.
In my locale, (Belgaum Rural) panchayata president demands Rs. 500 -1000 to give a 'yellow' card. Seeing how these cards are distributed for money, these cards have become sops to the current politicians at the lower level from the state's 'higher' politicians.
ReplyDeleteB.S.Karadi M.D. an American monk in India on sabbatical.