At least 20% BPL families should be in APL category, says Karnataka Minister KH Muniyappa
Belagavi: The Karnataka Minister for Food and Civil Supplies K H Muniyappa on Monday said in legislative council that at least 20 per cent of the families with Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards should be in the Above Poverty Line (APL) category.
He blamed the previous governments for the high number of Below Poverty Line ration cards in the state and appealed to all the political parties to rise above their party line and rectify this mistake.
“I accept that there are many APL families in the BPL category. They are at least 20 per cent. I tried to remove them, which led to the confusion,” he added replying to a question raised by the JD(S) MLC K A Thippeswamy in the Legislative council. Thippeswamy had asked the government about the recent confusion over the deletion of many BPL families from the list.
The MLC, however, pointed out that there are 1.43 crore families with BPL ration cards in the state, which means that almost 80 per cent of people have this ration card.
"Why has this happened? Have you investigated it?" Thippeswamy asked. In reply, Muniyappa said, “Successive governments are responsible for the increase in the BPL ration cards. I tried to bring many in the BPL to the APL. This effort created confusion.” He said he would scrutinise the list.
“Without causing trouble to a single BPL family, I will get a detailed inquiry conducted to bring the BPL families into the APL category,” the Minister told the House. He clarified that the government will not cancel the APL card holders.
According to him, there are 25 lakh APL card holders, of which only one lakh avail food grains at a subsidised rates.
Explaining the reason behind his apprehension that there are less BPL families, Muniyappa said Karnataka is the second economically strong state after Maharashtra.
Here the BPL families should be less in number but none of the southern states have above 50 per cent BPL families. “However, Karnataka has 65 per cent to 70 per cent BPL families which is not right and you all are aware of it. We need to resolve it rising above the party level. Then only it can be rectified,” the Minister said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Gujarat to amend marriage registration rules, cites 'misuse' of existing norms
Gandhinagar (PTI): The Gujarat government on Friday announced it plans to amend rules framed under the Gujarat Registration of Marriages Act, saying the move is aimed at plugging loopholes in the existing system.
Speaking in the assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi stressed the need for new norms, alleging that “innocent girls are being trapped” and such practices were spreading “like termites” in society.
He said several people and social organisations had urged the government to amend the marriage registration rules to prevent misuse of procedural gaps.
Referring to what he termed “love jihad”, Sanghavi said it amounted to a “cultural invasion” and asserted that the BJP government could no longer ignore the issue. He said the amendments are aimed at strengthening safeguards in the registration process.
ALSO READ: Delhi HC asks Jaideep Sengar to surrender in Unnao custodial death case
He said objections and suggestions on the proposed amendments are now invited from the public for 30 days.
“People and organisations can register their suggestions and objections on the Health and Family Welfare Department’s website. The new rules will be implemented after considering these suggestions and objections received by the department,” he said.
Later, the minister’s office shared a document detailing the proposed procedure for marriage registration under the amended rules.
As per the proposed rules, every marriage registration application will need to be submitted before the Assistant Registrar, while applicants must attach a declaration stating whether the bride and groom have informed their parents about the marriage.
Moreover, the bride and groom will have to provide the names, addresses, Aadhaar and contact details of their parents in the application.
The parents of the bride and groom will be informed within ten working days as soon as the Assistant Registrar is satisfied, according to the proposed rules.
The Assistant Registrar will forward the application to the Registrar of the district or taluka concerned. The marriage will be registered 30 days after the Registrar is satisfied that the requirements specified in sub-rules have been met.
The Registrar will upload all these details to an online portal to be created by the government, say the proposed rules.
AAP MLA Hemant Ahir, who had on Thursday introduced a private member's Bill in this regard, and BJP MLA Lavingji Thakor congratulated the deputy CM in the House, saying the proposed changes were the need of the hour.
They said innocent girls were being lured by anti-social elements who exploited loopholes in the existing system to solemnise and register marriages.
