Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of attempting to mislead the farmers of West Bengal through “half-truths and distorted facts” about why the “PM Kisan Nidhi Samman” scheme was not implemented in the state. The reaction from Banerjee came after Modi alleged her government did not cooperate with the Centre on implementing the scheme in Bengal, thereby depriving farmers of its benefits. Let me set the record straight – we have always been ready to cooperate in the interest of the farmers. They are yet to release even a portion of the Rs 85,000 crore of outstanding dues that includes unpaid GST dues of Rs 8,000 crore. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked the Centre to route the cash benefits through the state government and not directly to the farmers.

Source: Indian Express December 25, 2020 15:28 UTC