Opposition parties, notably the Congress, criticize Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s signing of the file for the seventeenth instalment of PM Kisan Nidhi, highlighting that it merely fulfills legitimate entitlements owed to farmers as per the government’s own policies. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh characterizes the gesture as a “great show,” emphasizing that the delay in disbursing previous instalments was politically motivated.
Ramesh accuses Modi of portraying routine administrative actions as grand benevolence, suggesting an inflated sense of self-importance. He urges the PM to take concrete steps such as legalizing the minimum support price, announcing a farm loan waiver, and implementing a Permanent Commission for farmers’ welfare. Additionally, Ramesh calls for improvements in insurance payouts, formulation of a farmer-centric export-import policy, and exemption of essential farming inputs from GST.