CHENNAI: The Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) led by the DMK has announced statewide protests against the Union government’s decision not to relax the permissible moisture-content limit for paddy procurement in Tamil Nadu.

In a statement on Friday, the alliance said demonstrations would be held in Thanjavur on November 23 and in Tiruvarur on November 24. The alliance's leaders said the refusal had severely affected farmers in the Delta region, who had suffered crop damage from heavy rain.

SPA has alleged that the BJP-led Union government had ignored Tamil Nadu’s request to increase the moisture limit, which would have enabled the procurement of rain-affected paddy. It said the “voice of Tamil Nadu” had failed to reach the Prime Minister.

This marks the third major agitation organised by the alliance in two weeks. Earlier, the parties held protests against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and against the Union government’s rejection of Metro Rail proposals for Coimbatore and Madurai.

The alliance said the demonstrations in the Delta districts would highlight the hardships farmers face and demand immediate intervention from the Union government.