Shri Modi Tweeted, “गुजरात में १० वर्षों से गरीबों को दो रुपये किलो गेहूं, तीन रुपये किलो चावल PDS द्वारा उपलब्ध करवाया जा रहा है| क्या यह खाद्य सुरक्षा नही है?” (For the last ten years, Gujarat is providing the poor with wheat at Rs. 2/- and rice at Rs. 3/- through PDS. Is this not food security?). He further wrote, “दिल्ली सरकार को दस वर्षों के बाद आज गरीब की याद आ रही है, उनकी नियत पर शक होता है|” (After ten years, the Government in Delhi is remembering the poor. Their motive is suspect.). Attacking the Centre for adding salt to the wounds of the common man he Tweeted, “दिल्ली में बैठी कांग्रेस की सरकार महंगाई से त्राहि-त्राहि कर रही गरीब जनता के घाव पर नमक छिड़कने का काम कर रही है|” (The Congress-led Government sitting in Delhi has burdened the people with price rise and what they are now doing is inflicting salt on their wounds).
Shri Modi had even questioned the motives of the Centre while addressing a public meeting in Vadodara on 12th June 2013, where he had gone to inaugurate development works. He had remarked, “I do not know when they will serve the food but they are only serving bills.” Referring to the Centre he said, “You formed the Government in 2004. If you were sincere about feeding the poor why are you thinking about this now? Were people not hungry in 2004?” Shri Modi added that the BJP wants that the poor are fed properly and have even taken steps in this regard. He pointed that had the Centre learned from the work BJP Governments across India are doing in feeding the power, a day like this would not have come. Shri Modi went on to question the Centre, “Do you now also want to make hunger a political issue? Will you now see how many Thalis give how many votes?”
He even took on the Government over mismanagement of rotting food grains and the callous attitude of the Government in this regard. Speaking at the inauguration of Gujarat’s first agro mall in Surat the Chief Minister had affirmed, “The Supreme Court asked the Government to give food grains (that were lying unused) to the poor but you would be surprised that it did not happen. Right now for votes they are talking about various laws but they did not follow the Supreme Court and give grains to the poor. And what did they do? They gave the grains to alcohol manufactures at a price of 65p. The Centre is not bothered about the poor…they only talk and give new slogans.” Shri Modi added, “If they were so bothered about the poor then they should have followed what the Supreme Court said.”
