Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Thursday, 21 May alleged that more than 3 lakh farmers have been quietly removed from the beneficiary list of the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme in the state under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The allegation, made through a formal press statement, points to a sharp year-on-year drop in the number of farmers receiving benefits under the flagship central scheme.

The Numbers Behind the Allegation

According to Kamal Nath, the count of farmers receiving PM-Kisan benefits in Madhya Pradesh fell from 86.49 lakh in 2024-25 to 83.01 lakh in 2025-26 — a decline of roughly 3.48 lakh beneficiaries in a single year. He alleged the exclusions were carried out “in a hidden manner,” without adequate notice to affected farmers.

Nath further claimed that e-KYC verification of more than 80,000 farmers remains pending, and the bank accounts of approximately 1.87 lakh farmers are still not linked to their Aadhaar numbers. “Because of this, many farmers are not receiving installment payments in their accounts,” he alleged.

Demand for Immediate Release of Pending Payments

The Congress leader demanded that the state government immediately disburse all pending installments to eligible farmers rather than, as he put it, “harassing” them. He argued that administrative bottlenecks around e-KYC and Aadhaar-bank linkage are being used as a pretext to deny legitimate beneficiaries their dues.

This comes amid broader concerns across several states about PM-Kisan beneficiary list revisions, which the Centre has periodically undertaken to weed out ineligible recipients. Critics argue, however, that such clean-up drives frequently ensnare genuine small and marginal farmers.

Cyber Fraud Allegations in Shivpuri

Separately, Kamal Nath raised allegations of cyber fraud linked to wheat procurement payments in Shivpuri district. He claimed that several farmers who sold wheat at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) did not receive payments in their own bank accounts, with the money allegedly routed to suspicious accounts instead. “A large number of farmers have become victims of cyber fraud. There should be a thorough investigation and affected farmers must be given compensation immediately,” he said.

The Shivpuri fraud allegations, if verified, would represent a serious breach in the state’s agricultural procurement payment infrastructure — a system that handles thousands of crore rupees annually during the rabi procurement season.

Government Yet to Respond

The Madhya Pradesh government had not issued any response to the allegations as of the time of reporting. The BJP has frequently cited the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme as a flagship welfare delivery mechanism for farmers. Notably, the reported drop in beneficiaries comes in a year when the scheme’s political salience remains high ahead of local body elections in the state.

With the opposition sharpening its agrarian narrative, the government’s response — or continued silence — on both the beneficiary decline and the Shivpuri fraud claims is likely to define the next phase of this political exchange.