The previous government distributed 20 kilos of rice to each person for free during the presidential election, which led to a shortage of red rice in the market, Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe said in Parliament today.
“There is a shortage of red rice in the market. The reason for the shortage is that the previous government distributed 20 kilos of rice to the people before the presidential election. Red rice was distributed even among people who do not eat it.” He said this while giving an oral response to a question asked by Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa.