Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that if the BJP comes to power in West Bengal, the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi will be passed in the first cabinet meeting and the farmers of the state will not only start getting the benefits of the Central scheme, but they will also receive the backlog of Rs 18,000.
Addressing an election rally at Haripal in Hooghly district, the Prime Minister said, “If the BJP comes to power in Bengal, I shall come at the oath taking ceremony and ask the Chief Minister to give approval to the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi at the first cabinet meeting so that I can send the money immediately. This will be the first job of the BJP government”.
Launched in 2019, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi is a Central scheme that gives Rs 6,000 annual subsidy to the registered beneficiary farmers in three installments of Rs 2,000 each.
Taking a dig at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Modi said, “More than Rs 1.5 lakh crore has been sent to the accounts of 10 crore farmers, but the poor farmers of this state are yet to get this benefit because ‘Didi’ (Mamata Banerjee) didn’t approve the scheme. I assure not only to give the benefits of the scheme, but also the Rs 18,000 backlog to each farmer.”
The Prime Minister was referring to the three instalments of Rs 6,000 each given to the farmers which the farmers of Bengal were deprived of because of the opposition from the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress.
The Prime Minister also criticised Banerjee for not allowing the Ayushman Bharat Yojana in Bengal claiming that the state government’s own project — ‘Swastha Sathi’ — is a better alternative to the Central government’s health insurance scheme.
“She might have a project, but what is the harm in accepting the Ayushman Bharat scheme? People would have got an additional health cover of Rs 5 lakh. Moreover, the state-funded project is not accepted outside Bengal, but the Central project is accepted throughout the country,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister also assured to start all the Central government projects in the state once the BJP is voted to power.
Confident of winning the ongoing Assembly elections in West Bengal, the Prime Minister said that Chief Minister Banerjee has not only cheated the people of the state, but she has also insulted them by saying that people are gathering at BJP rallies because of money.
Asking the crowd if they came to the rally braving the heat for money, Modi said, “The people of Bengal have fought the British. They have never compromised with the wrong. They are known for their self-respect and this is an insult to them”.
Alleging that Banerjee and the syndicate racket of Trinamool Congress are responsible for the plight of the people of Bengal, Modi said, “The old factories are closed and there is no new investment. The people of Nandigram and Singur were betrayed and it is time for ‘Ashol Poriborton’ (real change).
“Once people used to come to Bengal for jobs and now the people of this state have to go outside in search of work. Election and democracy are not games. They are an effort to work selflessly for the people.”
Launching a scathing attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in particular, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his second election rally on Saturday at Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas district said that the cut-money culture and syndicate racket is hindering the growth of the state.
Holding back-to-back rallies in Sonarpur and Haripal in Hooghly district, Modi said, “The extortionists of Trinamool Congress hoarded the ration sent for the poor by the Centre. During Corona, the Centre sent 23 lakh metric tonnes paddy and one lakh metric tonnes pulses and for that the Centre had to pay nearly Rs 9,000 crore, but the Mamata Banerjee government didn’t allow the Central benefit to reach you. They hoarded the ration. The assistance sent to the state during Cyclone Amphan didn’t reach. It was also looted.
Urging that a double-engine government can only provide all the Central benefits to the people of Bengal, Modi alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress is hindering the growth of the state.
“The Centre has developed 1,000 fast-track courts to give prompt justice to the women but it is not allowed here. The Centre provides free vaccination and Rs 1,000 for pregnant women but here the women are deprived of the benefit. The women don’t get the benefits of Central loan facilities because they will have to give cut-money for that,” the Prime Minister alleged.
Countering Mamata Banerjee’s allegation against the partisan attitude of the Election Commission of India (ECI), Modi said, “Why are you so angry with the ECI and the security people? Are you angry because they have not allowed you to give proxy votes? You should remember that 10 years before, they only gave you the chance to rule Bengal. You were happy then. Keep faith on the people.”
Suggesting that Banerjee contesting from Nandigram is a big mistake, the Prime Minister said, “There are rumours (though I have not verified) inside the party that she might contest from another constituency. She will lose in Nandigram and if she loses from the second constituency also, the Trinamool Congress can never come to power”.
Contesting her ‘outsider’ remark against the BJP national leadership, the Prime Minister said, “I have heard that she expressed her desire to contest from Banaras. She is always welcome because the people of Banaras and Kashi have a huge heart, just like the people of Bengal.
“They will never call her an outsider. But she will have to listen to ‘Har Har Mahadev’ every now and then. She gets irritated with the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan. How will she tolerate that? One thing I can say that the people of UP will love her and accept her so much that they will not allow her to go to Delhi. She will have to stay there.”
