Chandigarh, September 12
The Sirsa MP, Former Union Minister, General Secretary of All India Congress Committee and CWC Member Kumari Selja said the BJP government appeared to have found poor families across Haryana before the Assembly elections, when the number of BPL families had risen to around 52.50 lakh. However, within just six months of the elections, 13.50 lakh families were removed from the BPL list. She said the eligibility of the remaining 39.89 lakh families was now also being re-examined.
Selja sought an explanation from the government over what economic and social transformation had taken place in only six months that resulted in 13.50 lakh families suddenly becoming ineligible for BPL benefits. She questioned whether the incomes of these families had increased so substantially that they no longer needed government assistance, or whether BPL cards had been issued before the elections without adequate verification for political benefit.
She said a BPL card was not merely a document but an important basis for poor families to access ration, healthcare, education and other welfare schemes. Removing eligible families from the list without transparent verification and giving them an opportunity to present their case would be unjust, she said.
Selja stressed that gram sabhas, local bodies and the concerned families should be involved in the verification process. She demanded that the government make public the district-wise details of the 13.50 lakh families removed from the BPL list and the criteria or grounds on which they were declared ineligible.
Selja said no eligible family should be deprived of ration or other government benefits. She also called for a simple and time-bound appeal mechanism so that genuine beneficiaries could challenge wrongful exclusions and continue receiving welfare support.