TN govt can't shirk its failure, says BJP

TIRUCHY: BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran on Saturday said that the issue of increased moisture content in paddy is not due to monsoon rains but to the irresponsibility of the DMK government, and that the state must take responsibility for the losses incurred by farmers.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the party's meeting on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, chaired by BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, Nagenthran said the kuruvai harvest had begun on June 1, and it was the State government’s responsibility to procure paddy. However, he alleged that the state failed to establish an adequate number of godowns for storage.

“The DMK government is responsible for the loss faced by farmers and not the Centre,” he said.

Nagenthran further alleged that, despite being in charge of paddy procurement, the State government was charging farmers storage fees in private warehouses. “The incentive too is given only by the Union government and not by the state government — the DMK government is cheating the farmers,” he charged.

BJP former state president K Annamalai also criticised the DMK government, accusing it of shifting blame to the Centre to cover up its inefficiency.

“The DMK government failed to provide proper storage facilities and is now accusing the Centre. Even the infrastructure sanctioned by the Centre for paddy storage was not established. So Chief Minister MK Stalin is responsible for the loss faced by farmers,” Annamalai said.