COIMBATORE: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami hit back at Chief Minister MK Stalin, saying his government was the one that betrayed farmers, referring to the Centre's refusal to relax the paddy moisture content limit to 22 per cent.
Blaming the DMK for causing distress to Delta farmers, Palaniswami said that had the government begun timely procurement, harvested paddy would not have been soaked and sprouted in the rains.
“Even during my visit to the delta region, I found procurement centres inactive for 15 days, with sacks piled up without being moved to godowns. There was insufficient weighing staff and lorries. Even diesel payments to truck operators were pending,” he said, criticising the government for excluding kuruvai farmers from crop insurance schemes over the last four consecutive years.
“The DMK boasts of winning 40 MPs. But what's the use, if they couldn’t secure the rights of farmers,” he said, while referring to his party MPs stalling the parliament for 22 days over the Cauvery issue.
He also questioned CM Stalin on farm laws. He asked him to specify how the three farm laws of the central government affect farmers in Tamil Nadu.
“Does Stalin even know what the three farm laws are? These laws only affect those who own ‘mandis’ in northern States. Let the Chief Minister first explain what harm they cause to farmers in Tamil Nadu, and I will reply then,” he said to the media in Salem.
He also accused the DMK of scrapping his ‘farm protection scheme,’ which was meant to fix stable prices for farmers and traders through formal agreements. Referring to the central government's rejection of the request to increase the paddy moisture content limit to 22 per cent, the Leader of the Opposition sought information from the State government on the reasons for the rejection.
Responding to O Panneerselvam’s claim that groundwork is underway for his re-entry into the NDA alliance, Palaniswami asserted that ‘it's all over’, ruling out the possibility of his return to AIADMK.
He also questioned the delay in appointing a permanent DGP for the state and accused the DMK of involvement in irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).