Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shobha Karandlaje on Wednesday asked the Congress government in Karnataka to either provide free 10 kg of rice as promised during the elections or vacate the seat of power. “The Congress leaders gave false promises only to win elections. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should take back his statements in this regard,” Karandlaje told reporters in Chikkamagaluru.

The Centre earlier this month discontinued the sale of rice and wheat from the central pool under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to several state governments, including Karnataka, to “ensure inflationary trends are kept under control”.