Tamil Nadu politicians insensitive to farmers’ woes, rue Tiruchy ryots

Expressing solidarity with the farmers protesting in New Delhi, office-bearers of a few farmers’ associations staged a protest near the Collectorate here on Monday. The farmers said that the compensation that was announced would not even cover the input costs and demanded the waiver of crops loans in all banks, including the nationalised banks. 

Their protest, according to office bearers of certain farmers’ associations, was not receiving the enough support from Tamil Nadu politicians, while members elected from north Indian states were expressing solidarity. The farmers claimed that the politicians from Tamil Nadu, including the MPs, did not even visit the protesting farmers. 

Puliyur A Nagarajan, state president of TMC (Farmers’ Wing), who led the protest in Tiruchy said “Most of the agitating farmers are aged and have a few ailments. Some of them are admitted to hospitals after their health deteriorated following the continued protests. 

At least now the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy must instruct his party MPs and leaders to visit and lend support to them.” 

Cauvery Delta Irrigation Farmers Association state joint secretary R Subramaniam said that the agitating farmers were assisted by a few activists and students in Delhi but the politicians have been maintaining distance from them. 

In Delhi, the agitating farmers staged a mock suicide protest on Monday. A few even tried to hang themselves in the trees along the road, but their attempts were foiled by the Delhi police.

Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai on Monday met the protesting farmers from Tamil Nadu at Jantar Mantar here and assured them that he would help them raise their demands with Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Uma Bharti. The farmers have been staging a protest in the national capital for the past seven days. They are demanding a Rs 40,000 crore drought relief package from the Centre for Tamil Nadu, loan waiver, besides other reliefs. “Demands of the farmers are synchronous to that of the Tamil Nadu government. So, we will get appointments and make them meet the Union Finance Minister and Water Resources Minister in a day or two,” Thambidurai told reporters. The AIADMK leader requested the farmers to call off their protest. “It is worrying to see the farmers in such a situation. We told them to trust us in solving their issues and call off the protest,” he said. However, the farmers asserted not to call off the protest until their demands were met. “We have trust in the leaders of the state government. But, we are not willing to call of the protest until the Centre satisfies our demands, said Iyyakannu of the Desiya Thenninthiya Nathigal Inaippu Vivasayigal Sangam, who is leading the protest.  CPI National Secretary D Raja and CPI(M) MP T K Rangarajan too visited the farmers and offered their support.