|
The Planning Commission is most likely to withdraw its earlier affidavit submitted to Supreme Court, according to sources here. This was decided after the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia regarding the affidavit filed by the Planning Commission in the Supreme Court defining BPL and APL, the sources said. The Prime Minister is reported to have told Dr Ahluwalia to file a fresh affidavit in the Supreme Court. The government and the Planning Commission have come under heavy fire from all quarters of society for filing the affidavit which says that the person earning Rs 32 per day in urban areas and Rs 26 in rural areas is not poor and he falls in the category of APL. Even National Advisory Council members as well as several ministers have strongly criticised the affidavit contending that it was a mockery and amounts to rubbing salt into the wounds of common man who is already reeling under the pressure of sky-rocketing prices in the country. Several ministers have even written to the Prime Minister as well as Congress President Sonia Gandhi protesting against the affidavit filed by the Planning Commission. Dr Ahluwalia is going to clarify the position of the Planning Commission on the issue tomorrow. The affidavit was filed by the Planning Commission in response to the direction of Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma to define the criteria for BPL and APL categories in the country. The Supreme Court wanted to know the percentage of the people in the BPL category who are entitled to subsidised food items through the PDS system. The government is likely to tell the apex court that it does not agree with the stand of the Planning Commission because Congress General secretary Rahul Gandhi has also criticised the Planning Commission affidavit. |
| SOURCE: UNI |
