A team from the Central Food Department has arrived in Chhattisgarh to investigate an alleged rice scam during the COVID-19 pandemic. Raipur Member of Parliament, Sunil Soni addressing a press conference, criticised the Congress Government, stating that State has been ashamed of all the scams committed by the government in the last four and a half years, including a liquor scam and a coal scam. However, the alleged Rs 5,000 crore rice scam, in which 68,000 metric tonne of rice were involved, has put humanity to shame, according to Soni. The BJP has been raising the issue of the ‘rice scam’ by Bhupesh Government publicly since the COVID-19 period.

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna scheme was initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the pandemic, providing sufficient rice or wheat to 81.35 crore people. Under the world’s largest food scheme, an additional allocation of 1 lakh 385 metric tonne of rice is being made to Chhattisgarh every month from the Centre. However, the BJP alleges that only one-third of this rice reached beneficiaries. The BJP demands that Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who allegedly orchestrated the scam, should resign, and criminal cases should be filed against those involved in the scam. Former Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh has also written a letter to Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal regarding the issue.