New Delhi, July 26: The Centre will hold a meeting of chief ministers of various states and union territories to discuss the problems afflicting the public distribution system, as an all-party gathering convened this afternoon at the insistence of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was reduced to a blamegame. While the representatives of the Congress and the RJD blamed the Food Corporation of India for discriminating against the opposition-ruled states, food, consumer affairs and public distribution minister Sharad Yadav sought to put the blame on these states, alleging that they had failed to lift their share of foodgrain from the FCI godowns. Among the states mentioned in this regard were Bihar, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh.

The lacunae in the PDS — there were, according to the participants at today’s meeting, many — will now be addressed at the meeting of the chief ministers, the date for which will be finalised later.
Vajpayee, in his address, sought to highlight some of these problems. Expressing serious concern over limited offtake of grains by families below the poverty line (BPL), he urged the states to implement the laws strictly to ensure that food reached the targeted people.
``It has to be ensured that the foodgrain allotted to the states for the poorest sections are lifted by the concerned agencies, made available to the fair price shops and actually issued to the ultimate beneficiaries,’’ the Prime Minister said. Bureau Report