New Delhi: The All India Kisan Congress, the farmer front of the Congress party, will start bombarding the Prime Minister's Office with Demand Drafts of Rs 17 from Tuesday in protest against the cash transfer scheme announced in the union budget on Friday.
The DD amount of Rs 17 is equal to the payout of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme when calculated on a per day basis. The scheme will provide direct income support of Rs 6,000 a year, to be paid in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each, to small and marginal farmers holding cultivable land up to two hectares.
Congress and other opposition parties have criticised the meagre amount, calling it an insult to farmers’ plight. The Kisan Congress said that it was sending DDs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi so he could get himself an expensive suit made from farmers' money.
“PM Modi has betrayed farmers by announcing this scheme,” said Surender Solanki, vice president of the outfit. “The amount translates to a per day income of Rs 17. A farmer can’t even buy tea for his family in that amount. A single cup of tea costs Rs 10.”
The Kisan Congress, on behalf of aggrieved farmers has prepared multiple DDs that it will start posting to the PMO beginning Tuesday. “The Prime Minister can keep his Rs 17 with himself,” Solanki said. The Kisan Congress will also send PM Modi a letter, penned by chairman Nana Patole, raising farmers’ concerns about the scheme.
Patole, along with several farmers, will hold a press conference at All India Congress Committee office on Tuesday and move towards the PMO in Raisina Hill to agitate.
“PM Modi wears suits worth Rs 10 lakhs and is giving only Rs 17 to the entire family of a farmer. This is a cruel joke,” Patole said. According to him, DDs from farmers from every state will be sent to the PMO.
According to Solanki, after the budget announcement, several farmers had met the Kisan Congress chairman and asked for support.
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