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Chouhan announces rise in aid to farmers
The chief minister also blamed the previous Congress-led state government of increasing the burden of farmers
The financial assistance provided to farmers under the Centre’s PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi will be increased by ₹2,000 in Madhya Pradesh, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Tuesday, while his party colleague and defence minister Rajnath Singh took a jibe at Congress leaders, saying they have become “seasonal Hindu” for political gain.
The two senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were attending a ‘Kisan Kalyan Mahakumbh’ in Rajgarh. On the occasion, the chief minister made a slew of announcements, including waiving off ₹1,500 crore interest on farm loans of nearly 800,000 farmers in Madhya Pradesh, which will go to assembly elections later this year.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is already giving ₹6,000 to the farmers under the Kisan Samman Nidhi. We had earlier decided to add ₹4,000, which is being increased to ₹6,000,” Chouhan said. “Like beneficiaries under the ‘Ladli Behna’ scheme for women, farmers in the state, too, will now get ₹1,000 per month.”
The chief minister also blamed the previous Congress-led state government of increasing the burden of farmers. Believing the “false promises” of former chief minister Kamal Nath, the farmers did not pay loan interest, he added.
“Kamal Nath didn’t fulfil the promise and farmers were declared defaulter. The interest of farm loan increased to ₹2,123 crore. We are now trying to reduce that burden of interest,” Chouhan said. “In the first phase, the interest amount of ₹1,500 crore of 8 lakh [800,000] farmers have been deposited by the government today [Tuesday].”
Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh’s jibe at the Opposition party came a day after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra offered prayers to Narmada river in Jabalpur before announcing five poll promises of the Congress. Leaders and workers of the Opposition party decorated the city with the mace of Lord Hanuman ahead of Priyanka’s event.
“Some people in Congress have become what I call ‘seasonal Hindu’. I want to ask them why they did not remember Narmada ji before. Why are you remembering Narmada ji now,” Singh said. “Now they (Congress) are carrying Hanuman ji’s mace in their meetings and their events. Earlier they were wary of taking names of Ram and Hanuman.”
Singh also attacked the Congress over its poll guarantees, saying the party never fulfils its promises.
“To deceive the public, the Congress is talking about five guarantees. When Kamal Nath ji’s government was there, many announcements were made, none of them were fulfilled. Now Congress is talking about guarantees again,” Singh said.
The defence minister said the BJP always fulfils its promises. “We promised that we will build a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya and you all can see a grand Ram Temple is being built in Ayodhya and Ram Lalla will be placed there on January 22, 2024,” he added.
The Union minister also lauded chief minister Chouhan, saying, “Looking at the work done by Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the confidence displayed by the crowd I can with certainty say that we will again form the government with more seats this time.”
Meanwhile, former chief minister and state Congress chief Kamal Nath said the announcement made by Chouhan was an election move.
“Every farmer family in Madhya Pradesh understands very well that the most anti-farmer party in this country is the Bharatiya Janata Party and the most anti-farmer Chief Minister is Shivraj Singh Chouhan,” Nath tweeted in Hindi. “Sensing the defeat in the upcoming assembly polls, Shivraj ji is making new promises to the farmers, even though he done nothing other than protesting the farmers in his 18 years of government.”
