New Delhi, Jul 10: Accusing Congress of dangling the "lollipop" of food security to the poor ahead of Lok Sabha elections, BJP on Tuesday said had it followed correct policies and ensured development, there would have been no need for such a law and funds could have been be used for creating employment.
"When the UPA came to power it said it will get the Food Security Bill passed within 100 days. But there are bringing it as a lollipop now after being in power for nine years when polls are drawing near. This is a cruel joke on the poor," BJP President Rajnath Singh said at a party programme here.
Singh alleged that more than 80 crore people of the country still need food security due to the wrong policies and corruption of the Congress which has ruled the country for 55 years since independence.
"Congress has made us bankrupt when once the country used to be rich. Food security is needed for 67 per cent of the population today. Who is responsible for this?" he said.
The BJP President said 3 per cent of the GDP will be spent on food security if the Ordinance is approved. "One per cent of GDP can help create employment for 35 lakh youth. So this amount could have generated employment for nearly 1.25 Lakh youth," Singh said.
BJP wants changes to be made in the Food Security Bill and has demanded that the issue be debated in Parliament before it is passed. It has opposed the Ordinance route taken by the government.
However, BJP is likely to vote for the Food Bill when it comes up in Parliament.
"Whenever polls are near, Congress comes up with such lollipops to the poor. It does politics only to form a government," Singh said.
Singh also referred to terror attack on the Bodhgaya temple and said though there have been several attacks from terrorists and Maoists, the government is not taking the issue seriously.
Without naming the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, the BJP President said the government is instead engaged in creating a wedge between IB and CBI and other security agencies.
"The government has created a confrontation between IB and the CBI just to harass Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. IB, CBI and security agencies should have proper coordination among themselves, only then we can get rid of terrorism. Just because Modi is a popular leader, they want to trouble him," Singh said.
The BJP President insisted that Modi will get justice in court as well as the court of the people.
"Congress is trying to talk about communalism to divert attention from its failures and its corruption. They are making it a communalism versus secularism debate," Singh said.
At the programme, Singh welcomed two former Congress leaders Ramesh Kaushik and Naresh Kaushik as well as former Haryana Vikas Party leader Jitendra Singh Kaka into the BJP fold.
Ramesh Kaushik has been minister twice in Haryana. He hails from Sonepat. Naresh Kaushik is from Bahadurgarh in Haryana while Jitendra Kaka is from Kurukshetra region of the state.
