At a time when the Narendra Modi government is taking steps to cut subsidies, there is a shocking response to an RTI query. It has been revealed that many of the food items served in Parliament canteen are sold at just one-tenth of the cost of raw-materials used in preparing them.
For instance, the cost for procuring raw items for a dish like vegetable stew comes to about Rs 41 while the MPs are getting it for just Rs 4, which is a subsidy of about 90%.
The canteens in Parliament got a total subsidy of Rs 60 crore during last five years, revealed the RTI plea.
Talking about the issue, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said that he would discuss the issue and make attempts to reach a solution.
"I don't deny it as a Minister. There's the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and everyone should be attentive about this," he added.
Parrying queries over whether his government would discontinue with the subsidy, he said it has been going on for long and was not something decided by the BJP government.
The RTI activist, whose plea made the revelation, slammed the government over the issue, saying, "They tell others to give up on subsidies, but Parliament canteen gets heavy subsidy. The government should end this."
In his RTI plea, the petitioner had sought answers to questions like "Has the Union government had taken cognizance of adverse media reports and public relations on providing food-items in canteens of Parliament at highly subsidised prices?"
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party leader Alka Lamba said it was shocking that such subsidy was given in Parliament canteen, pointing that the food was already cheap for the members.
Congress, meanwhile, backed a re-look at the huge subsidy being given to the canteens, saying a "course correction" is needed on the matter. Party spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said, "If you look at the scale of subsidy being provided, I think there needs to be some course correction." He, however, noted that subsidised canteens function in different ministries.
The RTI reply had revealed that Parliament canteens got a total subsidy of Rs 60.7 crore during last five years with meals like 'puri sabji' being sold at 88 per cent subsidised rates.
The item list received under the Right to Information Act reveals that Parliamentarians, earning over Rs 1.4 lakh with perks, are relishing items like 'fish fried with chips' at Rs 25, mutton cutlet at Rs 18, boiled vegetables at Rs 5, mutton curry with bone at Rs 20 and masala dosa at Rs 6 with rates subsidised by 63 per cent, 65 per cent, 83 per cent, 67 per cent and 75 per cent respectively.
Recently, the canteen had grabbed headlines in March when Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit for lunch. The Prime Minister reportedly had a vegetarian thali and a plate of fruit salad, which cost him a total of Rs 28.
Some Members of Parliament had a year ago also complained about bad quality of food in the canteen, alleging that it served stale food. The MPs had said that they fell ill after eating the food.
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