From Sandeep Sharma
GUWAHATI: The BJP, which has been boasting of zero tolerance towards corruption, is now forced to admit the existence of corruption in the PM Kisan scheme in Assam, with the state coming in the first place of scheme irregularities.
Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, while replying to a question on the 2019- launched PM Kisan scheme in the Lok Sabha, was forced to admit that irregularities had occurred in the PM Kisan scheme and that Rs 2992.75 crore went to ineligible farmers in the country.
In this matter, Assam managed to secure a dubious first place and 8.35 lakh ‘ineligible’ or fake farmers across the state took Rs 558.01 crore from the scheme, said Tomar in the House.
The Congress reacting to this, said, “Earlier when the Congress had raised questions on irregularities in the selection of farmers in the PM Kisan scheme, our contention was rejected forthwith by the then Assam BJP government’s chief minister, finance minister and others and they were then blowing their own trumpet of zero tolerance of corruption. Is it not now apparent, following the statement by the Union minister, that these irregularities point to corruption within the government?”
The Congress party further stated that if they had to go by what the agriculture minister had said, then the money collected by these ineligible farmers should be brought back and then distributed among deserving and genuine farmers, after screening them properly.
The Congress also demanded for the investigation and weeding out of fake beneficiaries so that the deserving once can reap the benefits of these schemes.
They warned the ruling party against blowing its own trumpet in the fight against corruption and advised it to take some concrete steps to resolve the matter to prevent the downfall of the state.
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