New Delhi: The Congress has raised questions over the timing of the release of the 15th instalment of the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, a cash transfer scheme for farmers, on Wednesday. The party wondered if it was a deliberate move to influence the voters in the upcoming assembly elections in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, where polling will be held in two days.


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The PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019, and provides Rs 6,000 per year to eligible farmers in three equal instalments. The last instalment was released on August 9, 2021, while the previous one was on October 17, 2020, according to Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, who posted on X in Hindi.


Ramesh, whose party is in power in Chhattisgarh and is contesting against the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, pointed out that the 15th instalment was being released on November 15, 2023, just two days before the single-phase polling in Madhya Pradesh and the second-phase polling in Chhattisgarh. The first phase of polling in Chhattisgarh was held on November 7.


He also noted that the 15th instalment was being released 10 days before the polling in Rajasthan and 15 days before the polling in Telangana, where the Congress is also in the fray. The counting of votes for these states along with Mizoram will be held on December 3.


“Is this delay not intentional?” Ramesh asked in his post on X.