Hyderabad: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday raised concerns over the West Bengal government’s policy of linking welfare benefits to electoral rolls, alleging that genuine voters excluded during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise were being denied Public Distribution System (PDS) rations and other benefits.
Owaisi said many people marked as “absent” or “shifted”, as well as those who did not receive voter slips during the last election, were genuine voters. He questioned why access to welfare schemes should depend on inclusion in the voter list.
“What is the point of Aadhaar authentication if the voter roll is being used as the deciding factor?” he asked.
Criticising the policy, Owaisi said government welfare schemes are meant for all eligible citizens and should not be treated as rewards for voters. He alleged that the move appeared aimed at reducing beneficiary numbers and would disproportionately affect poor people, particularly women, Scheduled Castes and Muslims.
“The schemes are funded by public money and are the right of every eligible citizen,” he said.
His remarks came after West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh alleged that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was “heading towards collapse” due to widespread corruption within the party.
Speaking to reporters, Ghosh claimed that TMC leaders amassed wealth by siphoning funds from central and state welfare schemes and said those responsible should be brought to justice.
“Corruption is prevailing in TMC from top to bottom. Step by step, the whole organisation is heading for collapse,” he said.
Referring to welfare schemes such as Lakshmi Bhandar and Annapurna Bhandar, Ghosh said Indian citizenship is a basic requirement for receiving government benefits.
Citing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), he said it provides a pathway to citizenship for Hindu refugees from Bangladesh and Pakistan who have not yet obtained Indian citizenship.
Ghosh urged eligible individuals to register themselves, stating that non-citizens would otherwise be unable to access government welfare benefits.
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