New Delhi: Lauding Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s announcement of rolling out a doorstep ration delivery scheme in the state, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took a swipe at Centre for not allowing him to implement the same in Delhi.

Addressing the media, Kejriwal said, “There’s a saying, ‘you can’t stop the idea whose time has come;’ they (Centre) didn’t allow us to implement it in Delhi, no problem, we’ll do it in Punjab and country will demand it. It’ll get implemented in the country, like mohalla clinics.” Punjab Chief Minister today rolled out a doorstep ration delivery scheme in the state. He said that the scheme is an optional one, and the ration-card holders can opt out of it.

Mann also assured that the ration that’ll be delivered will be of good quality.

Mentioning how the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre did not let him do the same for Delhi, Kejriwal said, “Today, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced doorstep delivery of ration… it’ll be implemented soon.

We’ve been struggling to implement it in Delhi for the last four years; we planned out everything but the Centre’s BJP government stopped it.”

In November last year, the Supreme Court had declined to interfere with the Delhi High Court interim order which had cleared the way for the Delhi government’s doorstep delivery of ration scheme.

Delhi government had told the apex court that nowadays everything is being delivered home, including cooked food and liquor, and there is nothing wrong with the delivery of food grains at the doors of poor people under the Public Distribution System.

The Central government has filed an appeal in the top court against the High Court’s decision clearing the way for the Delhi government’s doorstep delivery of ration scheme.