category Regional, chandigarh, , tags Regional, chandigarh, , DW BUREAU Chandigarh The BJP and the Congress Thursday slammed the AAP government in Punjab over its plans to roll out a scheme for the delivery of wheat flour at the doorsteps of beneficiaries. While the BJP accused the Bhagwant Mann government of hijacking the Centre s wheat distribution scheme for cheap publicity and political gains , the Congress said it would put additional burden on the state exchequer. Referring to a report in a section of media suggesting that the AAP government plans to start home delivery of wheat or wheat flour for beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar alleged that the AAP dispensation would circumvent the central scheme. He said that under the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, 80 crore poor people in the country get free foodgrains. In Punjab, the number of such beneficiaries are 1.41 crore, Jakhar said. He claimed the scheme for home delivery of wheat flour would cost Rs 670 crore. The AAP government should let the public know why a central scheme, which is being implemented smoothly in the state, is being tinkered with, he said. The central scheme is being hijacked , he alleged. Responding to Jakhar s allegations, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson in Punjab Ahbaab Grewal said the BJP leader was not concerned about the state. These people are shedding crocodile tears to fool Punjabis. But now the people of Punjab are not going to fall into their trap, he said. If Jakhar and other BJP leaders are so concerned about Punjab then why did they not raise the issues of pending rural development fund and withholding of funds under the National Health Mission with the Centre, asked Grewal. Meanwhile, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa cautioned the Aam Aadmi Party government against this faulty scheme. It is not only the beneficiaries who are prone to get substandard flour but the flagship scheme of the AAP government will also increase the unnecessary burden on the state exchequer, Bajwa said in a statement. (editor dailyworld.in)