Patna,(BiharTimes): Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday reiterated his support for the the Food Security Bill proposed by the UPA II but said the Centre should bear the additional financial burden.

Talking to reporters after weekly Janata Darbar he said he favoured the Bill ‘in principle’ as it would provide legal food security for the poor. However, he said it should have the provision that the additional cost for its implementation would be borne by the Centre instead of being transferred to resource-hit states like Bihar.

The chief minister ruled out that Food Security Bill would earn votes for UPA in the 2014 general elections as MNREGA did for the party in the 2009 polls. He said as the legislation in this regard is being brought by the government at the fag end of the tenure it would not pay any political dividend to the UPA.

Nitish said Bihar had suggested to the Centre that the proposed Food Security Commission should have seven members out of which five should be from rural background instead of urban elites. Besides there should be members from minorities, SC, ST and OBC sections as well as two women.

He once again favoured setting up of a BPL Commission along the lines of the Election Commission for listing of beneficiaries. The BPL Commission could effectively take up headcount of beneficiaries for susbidised foodgrains scheme instead of relying on old datas. 
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