The Congress on Thursday alleged that the Center is issuing notices to farmers deemed ineligible under the PM-KISAN scheme to take back the money paid to them and demanded an immediate stop to the renewal from “poor annadaatas”. The opposition party said that while the government is “waiving off crores worth of loans to its industrialist friends”, it is taking money back from farmers. Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh said that by declaring farmers ineligible under Kisan Samman Nidhi, the central government has initiated a refund drive. “Instead of Kisan Samman Nidhi, this move by the central government has become ‘Kisan Apman Nidhi’. The government, which is waiving crores of loans of its industrialist friends, is taking back the money it gave to the poor ‘annadaats’ of the country…,” Singh said.
In 2019, when the Modi government launched Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, it “hastily” took the bank account numbers of farmers so that the money could reach them before the elections, he said. “Now the central government is saying that those who are not eligible and have received the amount under Kisan Samman Nidhi should return the money. The government is also sending notices to farmers to take back the money. The process of recovery through declarations of about two million ineligible farmers across country should be stopped immediately,” Singh said.
The government said money was transferred to ineligible beneficiaries under the PM-KISAN scheme and states were advised to get refunds. A facility has been created on the web portal through which any individual farmer can claim refund through the Non-Tax Revenue Portal (NTRP) system. Announced in February 2019, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-KISAN) is a central scheme aimed at providing financial assistance to land-owning farmer families, subject to certain exclusion criteria, to enable them to meet expenses related to to agriculture and associated activities as well as household needs. Singh also said that Uttar Pradesh should be declared a drought-affected state as there was 44 percent less than average rainfall this year due to which all Kharif crops withered.
“Along with this, after declaring drought, all farmers of the state should be immediately compensated for their crops. Interest on all agricultural loans of farmers like farm machinery, fertilisers, seeds, pesticides should be deferred.” six months,” Singh said. The Congress leader alleged that ahead of the 2022 assembly elections, the Uttar Pradesh government had started a scheme of free food grains for eligible card holders to influence their votes, which has now been stopped. “Since the target has now been reached, the vote has been taken, the free rations have also been stopped,” he said. “Unemployment-poverty has further increased. The purchasing power of the poor has further decreased. NCRB data shows that suicides of daily wage laborers have increased. Shutting down the free ration system at such a time reveals the politics of selfishness and meanness of the state government,” he said.
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