The direct cash transfer scheme has nothing to do with early elections and this will remain while Governments will come and go, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has claimed.

While the BJP-led Opposition has long been arguing that the ruling Congress is trying to reap political dividends from the launch of the scheme during the next general elections, the Congress is claiming that the scheme is an attempt to get rid of the middlemen from the system and giving the poor their right.

Praising the Government's initiative, Mr. Chidambaram said on Tuesday, "This has nothing to do with early elections. Elections will come and go. Governments will come and go. But you will see that this system will remain. It will be a game-changer."

Chidambaram also said that there was no connection in the selection of the 51 districts in which the scheme would be rolled out in the first phase.

It may be noted here that Mr. Chidambaram, along with rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, was deputed by Congress to explain the details of the ambitious scheme.

The Union Finance Minister added that district collectors would be brought to the Delhi to explain the nitty-gritty of the scheme to them and sensitize them about the scheme.