As Mamata Call for Protests on Farm Bills, Governor Accuses CM of Depriving Benefits to 70 lakh Farmers

A day after West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee called for a nationwide protest against the contentious ‘farm bills’, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar alleged that over 70 lakhs farmers in the state were denied ‘PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi’ scheme due to the laxity and inaction of the state government.

In a letter to Mamata Banerjee, the Governor alleged laxity and inaction in providing benefits from the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi to over 70 lakh farmers in the state, especially during these stressed times.

“Over 70 lakh farmers would have got Rs 12,000 directly in their bank account without any intermediary. There is no rationale to deny this benefit to our farmers as there is 100 per cent contribution from the government of India,” Dhankhar said.

“State does not incur any financial burden or liability. State government has only to impart details, which it has unfortunately not been done, with no explicable premise or rational approach,” he added.

Dhankhar claimed that had the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme been implemented by the West Bengal government, 70 lakh farmers in the state would have benefited of Rs 8400 crores.

“All across the country, except in West Bengal, farmers have enormously benefited from the PM-Kisan scheme and so far more than Rs 92,000 crores have been defrayed to them,” the Governor said.

“Due to inaction of the West Bengal government, our farmers are also deprived from reaping the benefit of the package of Rs 3.5 lakh crore unfolded by the central government during the Covid-19 pandemic. There would have been accrual of benefit to our farmers by over Rs 30,000 crores if the state government had taken an affirmative stance as regards PM-Kishan,” Dhankhar added.

The Governor requested the state government to keep the differences aside for the betterment of the farmers in the state.

“Confrontational stance at the cost of farmers’ suffering is indeed worrisome. It is high time this grave injustice to our farmers is redressed so that they come to secure due benefits of the PM-Kisan and the Rs 3.5 lakh crore package like rest of their brethren in the country,” he added.