THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Agriculture minister V S Sunil Kumar and Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam clashed over the inauguration of “Kisan Samman Nidhi” in Kerala. V S Sunilkumar had said that it is not right for BJP to politicize this matter. Kannanthanam retaliated by saying that the programme was inaugurated in Gorakhpur and maybe agriculture minister can go to Gorakhpur. The state-level inauguration of the programme was done by V S Sunil Kumar in Kottayam. Meanwhile, Alphons Kannathanam organized a parallel event in Kazhakkoottam.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday rolled out the ambitious PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi), a cash-transfer scheme, here in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and used the event to accuse the opposition of shedding crocodile tears for farmers. The Centre had announced the PM-KISAN scheme in the 2019-20 Interim Budget. Under this, Rs 6,000 will be paid to 12 crore small and marginal farmers holding cultivable land of up to two hectares per year in three installments.