Manish Sisodia attacks L-G again, accuses him of 'protecting ration mafia'

In another attack on Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia accused him of supporting the "ration mafia" on Thursday, who were hindering the doorstep delivery of ration services in the Capital. The issue was believed to be the reason behind the alleged assault on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash last week at the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"Why are you protecting the ration mafia? It is quite visible that the L-G is supporting the mafia running in the capital. There is definitely some conspiracy. The chief secretary has sent the food commissioner on leave at a time where an important issue related to his department is being discussed," said Sisodia. He was speaking after the Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

The issue had been discussed in the previous Cabinet meeting in which the government had asked the Delhi Chief Secretary to prepare the report on e-POS machines and submit it within a week. Fair Price Shops in Delhi which sell rations will no longer use the e-POS Aadhaar-linked machine for distribution of rations, the Cabinet had decided. The shops will, instead, give rations by verifying details on ration cards, which is the way it was being done till November last year.

"We had earlier planned to start it in January and since then it has been not able to operate till now. A mafia runs in the capital which is politically backed up by few leaders. The chief secretary has been ordered to prepare the proposal by next Cabinet meeting," he said.

Earlier Sisodia had targeted the Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash on the issue on Tuesday and blamed him for the delay in doorstep delivery of ration services.

In a public meeting in the Capital earlier this month, people had spoken about how they were forced to go to ration shops several times to get their quota. Some said that even after their fingerprints were not authenticated, the records stated that their share of rations had been disbursed.

The delay in the doorstep delivery of ration services was apparently also discussed in the meeting that happened at the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal last week. Prakash was allegedly attacked by few AAP MLAs after which the matter was reported to the police. The incident led to an open war between bureaucrats and AAP Ministers.