Seven lakh Bengal farmers received the first instalment of funds from the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi on Friday, ending a deadlock for over two years with both the Trinamul Congress and the BJP claiming victory over the release of the funds to farmers.

“Due to demand and actions of CM and government of West Bengal, seven lakh farmers of West Bengal got their due entitlement, the first instalment of Kisan Samman Nidhi today by direct transfer as per data submitted by state. State will fight for its farmers,” read a tweet by the Bengal home department on Friday.

Under the PM-Kisan scheme, a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year is provided to beneficiaries, payable in three four-monthly instalment of Rs 2,000 each, which is transferred directly to their bank accounts.

Till the 2021 Assembly elections, Bengal had not joined the scheme which had become a talking point of the BJP’s poll campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had accused the Mamata Banerjee government of not allowing central schemes to be implemented in the state at many of his election rallies.

“She did not want the people to benefit from any of the central schemes for the fear of losing votes. Now that she is the chief minister again with a whopping majority, she sees no threat from the central funds,” said a BJP leader.

On Thursday, a letter from the chief minister’s office addressed to farmers stated that the Centre was not releasing funds under the Kisan Samman Nidhi and whatever little was being disbursed was after her “relentless fight.”

Two days after the Assembly poll results were declared, the Mamata Banerjee government gave the nod to implement the scheme here.

According to the Union agriculture ministry had the Bengal government agreed to join the scheme, 69lakh farmers in the state would have received Rs 9,600crore by December 25, 2020 when funds from the previous instalment of the scheme—the seventh one—was released.

On Friday, Rs 20,000 crore was released as the eighth instalment of the scheme to 9.6 crore farmers across the country.

Modi also interacted with farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir and Andaman and Nicobar islands.

“We have eased availability of loans to farmers. Kisan credit cards are being issued for the last 18 months. The Centre will distribute another two crore Kisan credit cards this year,” Modi said in the virtual meet.

Modi said the Union government was also planning to revise the minimum support price for agri-produce.

During the meet, Modi told a farmer from Meghalaya, a Farmer Produce Organisation was being set up for small farmers across the country. “The confidence with which you do things makes the model a sought-after one,” he said.