People can resume applying for new BPL cards from October: Karnataka minister K.H. Muniyappa
Manipal: Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs K.H. Muniyappa said that the ongoing revision of Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards in Karnataka will conclude by this month’s end, and people can resume applying for new BPL cards from October.
“If anybody’s card was erroneously changed from BPL to APL during the revision, they can apply for a BPL card through the tahsildar,” The Hindu quoted him as saying.
Speaking to reporters after reviewing the progress of the Food and Civil Supplies Department for Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Manipal on Friday, Muniyappa explained that once ineligible BPL cardholders are moved to the Above Poverty Line (APL) category, a window will be opened for new applicants.
He said those who had been waiting for nearly two years to apply for BPL cards but could not do so because the window was closed (as too many BPL cards were reported in Karnataka) will finally get the opportunity once the revision process ends.
The minister further urged ineligible cardholders to voluntarily surrender their BPL cards and obtain APL cards, ensuring genuine beneficiaries can avail the scheme.
Muniyappa said that 7.70 lakh ration cards in the state were flagged as ineligible to hold BPL cards as per the Union government’s recent survey of rightful targeting of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Those cardholders will be shifted from the BPL to the APL category as per the direction of the Union government, added the report.
He attributed the unusually high number of BPL cards in Karnataka to successive governments issuing them without proper assessment. “States like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala do not have more than 50% BPL card holders as per an assessment. But this crossed 75% in Karnataka,” he said.
“Notwithstanding a developed state, Karnataka has 1.28 crore BPL and Antyodaya card holders. So the revision of the authenticity of BPL cards was needed,” the minister added.
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BJP has history of ‘contradictory alliances’, says BK Hariprasad
Bengaluru: Congress MLC B. K. Hariprasad has launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing the party of hypocrisy over its criticism of alliance politics in Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X on Friday, Hariprasad said BJP leader B. L. Santhosh criticising the Congress party’s alliance politics in Tamil Nadu was “not just laughable, but the height of political contradiction.”
He said the Congress has always joined hands with like-minded parties to protect secular and democratic values in the country.
Hariprasad questioned the BJP over several of its past and present alliances across the country. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tripura, Bihar and Maharashtra, he accused the BJP of sharing power with parties it had earlier criticised.
He alleged that the BJP had aligned with separatist and corruption-linked political forces in different states for political gains.
“The BJP, which speaks against alliances today, should first look at its own political history,” he said, adding that the party’s record was full of “contradictions and changing stands.”
Hariprasad also accused the BJP of using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and CBI as political tools to target opposition leaders, topple governments and influence electoral mandates.
He further claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu had strongly rejected the BJP and its ideology in the recent election.
“Congress forms alliances to protect the Constitution, secularism and national unity, while the BJP enters into alliances only for power,” he said.
