New Delhi: Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday sparred over the former’s announcement that voter ID cards and not Aadhaar, will be the basis for availing benefits under Panchayati Raj schemes.
Addressing a national workship on the Jan Yojana Abhiyaan, Lalan Singh said: “Organisations that issue Aadhaar cards are available in every locality now. They can create an Aadhaar card for anyone within five minutes. So, Aadhaar won’t be the basis (for identifying beneficiaries).”
Reacting to the announcement, Rahul Gandhi called it a “conspiracy” of the Narendra Modi government.
In a post on social media platform X, the LoP said: “Today it is Panchayati Raj welfare schemes. Tomorrow, will it be ration benefits? Pensions? MGNREGA? Housing schemes? Scholarships? Reservations?”
“This is not politics aimed at winning elections. It is an arrangement for stealing elections and a permanent mechanism for remaining in power,” he alleged.
LoP Gandhi added:” This is not just the theft of votes, it is the theft of rights. We will not allow this to happen.”
Union Minister Lalan Singh hit back at Rahul Gandhi, referring to the latter as “restless soul” and accused him of linking everything to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Taking a jibe at the LoP, the Union Minister said: “He is so adept at twisting facts to suit his narrative that he could be awarded a PhD for it.”
Lalan Singh clarified that Aadhaar alone will not be the basis for payments to beneficiaries.
“Along with Aadhaar, biometric verification and EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) numbers have also been added,” he said in a self-made video.
“But he (Rahul Gandhi) does not seem to know the complete facts,” he said, while asserting that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, if a beneficiary is entitled to receive Rs 100, the entire payment reaches that beneficiary.
Referring to former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi, Lalan Singh noted: “Recall what happened during the past Congress governments. It was your late father, who served as Prime Minister of this country, and said that when Rs 100 was sent, only Rs 10 reached the intended recipient, while Rs 90 is taken away by the middlemen.”
Further targeting the LoP, the Union Minister said: “You have a habit of distorting facts, and in many such matters you seem to have acquired considerable expertise. You connect everything with SIR.”
The Panchayati Raj Minister said that the Centre has resolved that only the genuine beneficiaries in villages and panchayats should receive every rupee that they are entitled to and no middleman should be able to take advantage of them.
“Nowadays, it seems that even when you sleep at night, all you see is SIR. You lose elections everywhere. Even your Ramlila Maidan rally was a flop,” Rajiv Ranjan told Rahul Gandhi.
Asserting that the public has become aware and informed, the Union Minister said: “Under the Modi government, it is being ensured that every rupee reaches the intended recipient with complete transparency.”
(IANS)
