A communication from the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday night giving nod to the disbursement of second instalment of financial assistance to farmers under Rythu Bandhu scheme, by the Telangana government, six days ahead of the polling for the assembly elections in the state evoked strong protests from the Congress party.

The ECI has approved the disbursement of funds under Rythu Bandhu scheme, following a representation by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government led by chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) on November 18, saying that the farmers needed the amount as the Yasangi (Rabi) operations have already commenced.

In the Friday communication to chief electoral officer Vikas Raj, which was seen by HT, an ECI official said the Telangana government had requested disbursement of Rythu Bandhu assistance for Rabi-2023 with effect from Saturday (November 24).

“The Commission has no objection to disbursement of Rythu Bandhu assistance and has further directed that the DBT [direct benefit transfer] under the scheme will not be affected during silence period and poll day in the state,” it said.

Under the scheme, the state government would make a direct benefit transfer of ₹4,000 per acre to the account of every farmer, with effect from Saturday. The first instalment of ₹4,000 for Kharif-2023 was disbursed in June this year.

According to a state government official, about ₹7,300 crore will be deposited directly into the bank accounts of over 6.5 million farmers over the next couple of days. “The disbursement process has already begun,” he said on Saturday.

On October 23, the Congress wrote to the ECI seeking to withhold disbursement of second instalment of Rythu Bandhu scheme in the last week of November as it is likely to influence the voters.

“Naturally, the BRS would have an advantage of the disbursement of financial assistance to farmers. The farmers would be getting a minimum of ₹4,000 per acre directly into their accounts. A farmer with three acres of land will get ₹12,000 and this will help him develop a soft corner towards the BRS,” Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) spokesman G Niranjan said.

The Congress had requested that the ECI should either withhold the scheme till the election process is completed or direct the state government to disburse the Rythu Bandhu money before November 3, when the nomination process started.

The ECI brought to the notice of the state government the objections raised by the Congress. After seeking an explanation from the government, it issued an order on Friday night allowing the disbursement process from Saturday.

Taking strong exception to the ECI order, PCC president A Revanth Reddy said disbursement of money to the farmers by the BRS government just a few days before the polling would influence the outcome of the elections.

“The ECI communication clearly establishes the Fevicol bond between the BRS and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre. KCR is attempting to win by spending public money with the support of the Centre. The move is intended to influence the outcome of the elections,” he remarked.

He also pointed out that a series of raids by the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department on the residences of only Congress candidates like G Vivek and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and refusal of seizure of huge cash in the residence of former BRS government advisor clearly showed that the BRS and the BJP were hand in glove with each other.

The PCC chief appealed to the farmers not to fall into the trap of the BRS through disbursal of Rythu Bandhu money. “You can accept the money. Once the Congress comes to power, we shall give more money, as promised,” he said.

Senior BRS leader and state finance minister T Harish Rao said the ECI had given clearance to the disbursement of Rythu Bandhu funds to farmers only after persistent efforts by the chief minister.

“The Congress hatched a conspiracy to deny Rythu Bandhu funds to the farmers during the ongoing Rabi season by lodging a complaint with the EC. But KCR made all efforts to see that the EC gave the clearance as it is an ongoing scheme to help farmers to continue their farm operations,” Rao said.

The BJP did not make any comment on Revanth Reddy’s allegations. Union home minister Amit Shah, however, told the reporters on Saturday that the Centre would not stop financial assistance to farmers under Rythu Bandhu.