BJP MP Gautam Gambhir will launch 'Jan Rasoi' canteens that will serve lunch to the needy at Re 1 in his parliamentary constituency of East Delhi.

The cricketer-turned-politician will inaugurate the first such canteen in Gandhi Nagar on Thursday, followed by another in Ashok Nagar on the Republic Day, his office said.

"I have always felt that everybody has the right to healthy and hygienic food irrespective of caste, creed, religion or financial condition. It is saddening to see the homeless and destitute not being able to get even two square meals a day," Gambhir said.

The MP has planned to open at least one 'Jan Rasoi' canteen in each of the 10 assembly constituencies in East Delhi.

"The 'Jan Rasoi' at Gandhi Nagar, one of the biggest wholesale garment markets in the country, will be a full modern canteen which will provide lunch to those in need for just Re 1," according to a statement from his office.

It will have a capacity to seat 100 people at a time but due to the COVID-19 pandemic only 50 people will be allowed at present, it said.

The lunch will comprise rice, lentils and vegetable curries.

The project is being funded by Gautam Gambhir Foundation and the MP's personal resources, and has no government support, the statement said.

Some states run canteens which provide subsidised food to the needy but the national capital has no such facility where low priced good food is made available to people, Gambhir said.

"During the lockdown too, we witnessed thousands of migrant labourers being forced to leave the city due to lack of food and other basic resources," he said.

The BJP MP said it was his vision that every person in Delhi gets healthy food and clean water.