Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Rs. 75,000 crore Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme on Sunday for small and marginal cultivators.
The scheme was announced on February 1 in the interim budget ahead of national polls. The PM said that Rs. 6000 would be transferred annually in three instalments into bank accounts of farmers who holds less than two hectare of land.
Contrasting the scheme with farm loan waivers, Modi said that the waivers, unlike the scheme benefit a select few as he initiated the electronic transfer of the first instalment of Rs. 2000 into the account of 10.1 million farmers under the scheme.
Slamming the Congress, Modi said that the farm loan waiver only benefitted Congress workers and the PM-KISAN scheme will truly benefit the farmers. "PM-Kisan is not just an election promise and I warned the farmers against rumours that the money given under the scheme will be taken back," said Modi.
The PM said that the first instalment has already been transferred to the account of the farmers and that the remaining farmers will get the money soon.
Modi said that his government is working to provide all possible resources to help farmers double their income by 2022 and also launched several other projects worth Rs. 10,000 crore in Gorakhpur and Eastern Uttar Pradesh.
After the scheme has been launched, Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram in a series of tweet said that the BJP government has given bribe of Rs. 2000 to the farmers account officially to get their votes and that Nothing can be more shameful than giving Bribe for Votes.
The Election Commission can stop the scheme only after the model code of conduct comes into forces which prevent a government from announcing schemes that may influence voters in the run-up to elections. The dates for election is expected to be announced in the first week of March by the Election Commission.
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