'Routine Admin Made Into Great Bonanza': Congress Slams Modi's Publicised Release of Farmers' Funds

Congress's Jairam Ramesh has said the current instalment was already delayed due to 'the PM’s electoral calculus.'

The Wire Staff

Congress's Jairam Ramesh has said the current instalment was already delayed due to 'the PM’s electoral calculus.'

routine admin made into great bonanza congress slams modi s publicised release of farmers funds

Jairam Ramesh and (right) Narendra Modi signing the 'first file'. Photos: Official X accounts.

New Delhi: The hype over Narendra Modi signing the ‘first file’ to release the latest instalment of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi in his new term has evoked a sharp response from the Congress.

Congress's chief spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said that the latest instalment of the scheme was already delayed, and an entitlement guaranteed to farmers by the union government’s policy was being made out to appear as Modi’s benevolence.

“The 16th instalment of PM Kisan Nidhi was due in January 2024, but was delayed by a month for the PM’s electoral calculus,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

“The एक तिहाई (one-third) Pradhan Mantri has done nobody a great favour by signing this file: these are legitimate entitlements due to farmers according to his Government’s own policy. He has made a habit of converting routine administrative decisions into some great bonanza that he is bestowing upon the people. Clearly, he still thinks of himself as not biological, but divine.”

“The 17th installment of PM Kisan Nidhi was due in April/May 2024, but was delayed by the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct,” he said, adding “aap chronology samajhiye (understand the timeline)”, in a dig at BJP union minister Amit Shah who first used the phrase to allege criminal conspiracy charges against anti-CAA activists.

Ramesh said that if the PM was "genuinely concerned about farmer welfare", he should deliver on five demands of farmers: legalise minimum support price according to the Swaminathan Commission's formula, waive off farm loans and set up a commission to properly implement it, guarantee insurance claims for farmers, hold consultations with farmers to set up a new export-import policy, and do away with GST on essential inputs for farming.

The एक तिहाई Pradhan Mantri has made a great show of signing his first file upon taking office – the granting of the 17th installment of the PM Kisan Nidhi funds. Aap chronology samajhiye:
• The 16th installment of PM Kisan Nidhi was due in January 2024, but was delayed by a… pic.twitter.com/MOYSGG6yD4
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 10, 2024

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