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NEW DELHI: Union minister of state for agriculture Bhagirath Choudhary and BJP MP from Sirohi in Rajasthan Lumba Ram received financial assistance under a central scheme in 2026 and 2025, govt informed Parliament Tuesday, adding that Choudhary, however, refunded the subsidy.In a written reply to Lok Sabha, minister of state for agriculture Ramnath Thakur said, “Bhagirath Choudhary has communicated that he has refunded the subsidy to the bank concerned under the scheme. The bank concerned has been directed to return the subsidy amount to the National Horticulture Board (NHB)”.He added, “The existing NHB scheme guidelines do not contain any specific provision regarding conflict of interest or recusal in respect of applications submitted by public functionaries or their family members.” Thakur was replying to a query by Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, who wanted to know whether any serving Union minister, MP or their immediate family members received subsidy under schemes of the NHB during the last five years.Thakur said, “The NHB processes all applications for financial assistance under its schemes through a transparent mechanism… All eligible applicants are treated equally, and applications are considered solely on the basis of the eligibility criteria and compliance with the provisions of the scheme.”
