Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah amid a row over the state rice scheme. Prior to the meeting, he told reporters that he was paying a courtesy call but will also discuss the rice issue with Shah.
Siddaramaiah, who has just completed one month as chief minister in his second tenure, also paid a courtesy visit to President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
There has been a controversy after the Centre discontinued on June 13 the sale of rice under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to all state governments in view of the inflationary pressure.
This decision has affected some states, including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, that operate their free rice schemes for the poor. They now have to procure the grains at a higher price from the open market or other states.
What has upset the Karnataka government is that the Centre discontinued the sale of rice "suddenly", a day after it gave permission to the state government to procure the grain from the central pool for the Anna Bhagya scheme.
