Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has surprised many, within his party and outside, by writing to the prime minister, seeking a review of the food security legislation.

In his August 8 letter the PM, he has termed the food security ordinance as hasty and urged him to call a meeting of the chief ministers before legislating on this crucial issue.

For one thing, this late opposition to the food security legislation makes its fate uncertain once again. And, secondly, Modi’s stance in sharp contrast to the approach taken by the BJP parliamentary board – which has repeatedly pledged support to passing the bill.

Read Modi’s letter to PM: See attachment

Modi writes, “The government of Gujarat has noted with concern the final formulation of the National Food Security Ordinance promulgated by the Central Government recently. In my clear view, this does not contain the basic tenets which any food security legislation should meet and is unlikely to achieve the objectives for which the union government has taken this step.”

After presenting five detailed arguments against the various provisions of the legislation, he notes, “looking at the issues raised above, it is clear that the Food Security Ordinance 2013 has been brought about with undue haste and has major flaws. A meeting of the chief ministers of the states needs to be called before the matter is finalised by the parliament.”

In a way, this is Modi’s critique of the one achievement the UPA hopes to go to people with to seek yet another term. But in the process, he has also apparently criticised some leaders within his own party, especially the two leaders of opposition, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, and the chair of the party’s parliamentary board LK Advani.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that food minister KV Thomas had done extensive consultations with the states during the final run-up earlier this year and held a meeting of the state food ministers in February. It was then that three chief ministers – of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh – had written to the PM with specific criticisms and suggestions. Thomas later said their concerns were taken on board.