CHENNAI: DMK president MK Stalin on Friday criticised the State government's Agriculture Budget, alleging that it focused more on praising Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay than addressing the drought situation and the hardships faced by farmers, while AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami termed the maiden Budget a repackaged version of existing schemes that had left farmers disappointed.
Stalin said the Budget concluded with yet another scheme-renaming exercise instead of announcing concrete relief measures. "Does this government think its job is done by merely affixing the 'vetri' label to schemes introduced under the Dravidian Model government? The Budget has disappointed Delta farmers, who are waiting for government support for kuruvai cultivation," he said.
Outlining the DMK's strategy for the Assembly session, Stalin said the party's legislators would consistently raise farmers' issues. "Our MLAs will highlight the plight of farmers during the entire session. The government, which is in a sleeping mode, must respond and provide solutions to the problems faced by farmers," he added.
Palaniswami echoed similar criticism. "Whatever schemes existed earlier have merely been given new names and presented in TVK's Budget. The government has simply pasted stickers on the old Budget and presented it in the Assembly," he alleged.
The former Chief Minister also accused the government of failing to honour its election promise of procuring paddy at Rs 3,500 per quintal. "The TVK had promised to procure paddy at Rs 3,500 per quintal, but there is no mention of it in the Agriculture Budget. There is also no clarity on the procurement price for sugarcane," he said.
Describing the Budget as a "drama", Palaniswami alleged that it had failed to address the key concerns of the farming community.