On Sunday, AAP Punjab President Aman Arora, along with Cabinet Ministers Harpal Cheema, Harbhajan Singh ETO, Laljit Bhullar, Dr Baljit Kaur, Tarunpreet Sondh, Dr Balbir Singh, Ravjot Singh, Hardeep Mundian, Mohinder Bhagat, and several MLAs, addressed the media at multiple locations across the state. They strongly criticized the Centre’s actions and made it clear that as long as the AAP government is in power in Punjab, no family’s ration card will be cancelled.
According to the RavjotnSingh, the BJP-led government at the Centre continues to maintain a discriminatory stance toward Punjab. From stalling farmer-related issues to undermining other state interests, he accused the Centre of being persistently biased. Singh argued that revoking such a large number of ration cards highlights a deeper indifference toward the poor, especially when the cards were issued based on need and eligibility.
He also pointed to Punjab’s longstanding contributions to the country, whether it was stepping up in national emergencies or ensuring India’s food security. According to him, the state produces almost 40% of the nation’s wheat and 26% of its rice, yet it still faces stepmotherly treatment.
Echoing Singh’s sentiment, the Aam Aadmi Party charged the BJP and central government with launching a calculated effort to halt free ration benefits, calling it an attempt to create distress among Punjab’s citizens, especially its farmers. In a strongly worded statement, the party said this would not be tolerated. AAP asserted that it would not allow the removal of even a single eligible person from the ration system while it remains in power in the state.
The party alleged that in July, ration benefits for 23 lakh people were discontinued using KYC procedures as a pretext. Now, a further 32 lakh are at risk of being denied access from September 30 onward, they claimed. Calling the development deeply unfair and unnecessary, the party maintained that this move seems intended to frustrate ordinary citizens. They vowed to resist it at every level, stating that no ration card should be cancelled arbitrarily.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi flatly denied the allegations. According to him, the Punjab government was intentionally spreading false information. He argued that the Centre has done nothing to disrupt food distribution and instead urged the state to ensure only deserving citizens benefit from the system. Joshi said that the food security law remains intact and unchanged, and that the central government remains fully committed to it. He claimed that the Mann government was stirring controversy as a political distraction, not out of genuine concern.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, too, spoke out on the issue a day earlier, saying the central government’s plans involve removing over eight lakh ration card holders under the National Food Security Act. He also demanded transparency in how beneficiaries are being identified and removed under the public distribution system. Meanwhile, the Union government dismissed all these charges. Officials insisted that no names had been removed from the ration list in Punjab, and that no grain quotas had been slashed. Instead, they called on the state to clean up and correct its own beneficiary data.
As the issue grows more intense, both sides appear locked in confrontation. AAP has taken the position that ration access must be protected for all valid beneficiaries, while the Centre insists that any issues are due to mismanagement at the state level, not policy changes from New Delhi.With tensions rising, the fate of ration access for lakhs of Punjabis now hangs in the balance, with both governments trading blame and offering completely opposite versions of the situation.
