2016 numbers shared to falsely claim over 95,000 ration cards canceled recently in Telangana

What is the claim?

A claim that more than 95,00 ration cards—an official document issued by state governments in India to households eligible for subsidized food grains—were canceled in the southern state of Telangana is going viral on social media. The claim has surfaced within days of the recently formed Congress-led Telangana government launching a special drive (Prajala Palana Grama Sabhas) to accept applications for new ration cards.

An X (formerly Twitter) user posted a message in Telugu claiming that around 95,040 existing ration cards were deleted from official records in the Medchal district in Telangana. The user also listed out the number of ration cards allegedly canceled in each area: Bachupalli - 2,378, Kesara - 3,388, Medchal  - 2,306, Muuduchintapalli - 3,209, Uppal Municipal Circle - 39,270, Balanagar municipal circle - 35,210 and so on. The post, viewed over 160,000 times, further added that “with the probability of deleting ration cards in other districts, people are in panic.” The archived versions of posts with similar claims can be viewed here, here, and here.

Screenshot of the viral claim, (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

What are the facts? 

Our research showed that no media outlet had reported on Telangana canceling over 95,000 ration cards recently under the Congress government. We also came across no statement announcing the move on any official channel or website of the Telangana government. 

However, we found a news report from local media outlet The Hans India headlined “Uttam refutes speculations on removing ration cards.” The report, published on January 6, said that Uttam Kumar Reddy, Telangana’s Minister of Civil Supplies, had clarified that “not even a single ration card” has been revoked by the state government.

The minister had also posted a clarification on the matter on his official X account on January 4 when parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi cited one of the now-viral posts to ask if the news of the cancelation of ration cards in Telangana was true. In his reply, Uttam Kumar wrote, “Asad, this news of cancellation of ration cards is totally false. Let me assure you, not one single ration card has been canceled anywhere in the state by our Government.”

Logically Facts also contacted the Telangana Ration Card Dealers Association—which is in the business of distributing ration supplies—to confirm if a huge number of ration cards had been canceled recently in the state. Naikoti Raju, president of the association, said, “No, such incidents of ration card deletion happened recently.”

Ration cards canceled in 2016

A news report published by Sakshi Telangana in 2022 titled “Reconsidering white ration cards, officers to visit homes (translated from Telugu),” mentioned that in 2016, the then Telangana government (led by Telangana Rashtra Samithi, now called Bharat Rashtra Samithi) had revoked several ration cards alleging they were ineligible.  However, the government’s move was challenged in the Supreme Court, as the cards were reportedly canceled without prior intimation to the ration card holders. The report, listing the number of ration cards area-wise, added that a total of 95,040 ration cards were deleted in the Medchal district. The numbers cited in the now-viral post may have been picked up from this 2016 development.

Screenshot of the 2022 Sakshi news report on ration card deletion in Medchal (Source: Sakshi Telangana)

The Supreme Court, hearing the petition against the cancellation of the ration cards, delivered a verdict in April 2022 and reprimanded the state government for canceling the cards without giving prior notice to the ration card holders. According to a report published in LiveLaw, the apex court redirected the state government to conduct field verification of all the ration card holders whose cards were canceled. An Andhra Jyothi report from December 2023 mentioned that upon verification, around 983 cards were found eligible and their cancellation was revoked. 

The verdict

Thousands of ration cards were canceled in Telangana in 2016 under the then TRS government, a move that was later challenged in the Supreme Court of India. Old data from 2016 has been reshared as recent. Our research showed that no such recent cancellation has been ordered by the current Telangana government. Therefore, we have marked this claim as misleading.