A A Rahim Slams Health Minister Over Move to End Free Food Distribution Programmes in Hospitals

Thiruvananthapuram: DYFI All India President and MP A A Rahim has strongly criticised Health Minister K Muraleedharan's statement that the government would discontinue free food distribution programmes run for years by various organisations, including DYFI's 'Hridayapoorvam', at government hospitals.

Rahim said such statements stem from "the blindness of power." He asserted that those who oppose the humanitarian initiative, carried out under the tagline "So that the eyes of the hungry do not fill with tears," should examine their own mindset and urged the government not to "throw mud into the poor man's meal."

He said DYFI would proudly continue distributing food packets. According to Rahim, the programme is not merely a political activity but a symbol of Keralam's collective social consciousness. He said food packets for the initiative are contributed by households displaying photographs of former Chief Minister K Karunakaran as well as by BJP supporters' families. Mothers prepare and pack the meals with prayers for people they have never met, transcending political differences, he added.

Rahim further alleged that what is disturbing K Muraleedharan is the DYFI flag, whereas for those distributing and receiving the food, it is simply about addressing hunger. He noted that DYFI ambulances are also serving patients at hospitals and questioned whether, because of opposition to the organisation, the government would next prevent ambulances bearing the DYFI name from entering hospitals. He also pointed out that DYFI workers regularly donate blood and asked whether the government would eventually say that blood donated by DYFI members should not be accepted.