Chief Minister Palanisamy may meet agitating ryots in capital today

Sources said that the decision to call off the protest was taken responding to appeals from various party leaders. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy, who has reached the national capital to attend the Niti Aayog meeting, is expected to meet them on Sunday. 

It is also learnt that Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan has promised the protesting farmers, led by Ayyakkannu of Tiruchy district, of a favourable response to their demands. Considering all these factors, the protesters have decided to suspend their agitation.

Similarly, various fora of the film industry and the South India Printers Association have also announced that they would suspend their work for a day on April 25 to express solidarity with the agitating farmers. 

Enhanced compensation for crop loss, waiver of farm loans obtained from all banks, including nationalised institutions, and scrapping of the hydrocarbon project at Neduvasal are some of the key demands of the farmers.

The farmers, whose protest entered the 40th day on Saturday, drank urine even as police tried to stop them. P Ayyakkannu, who is leading the protest, said: “The Union government is not giving us water. So, we are consuming urine.Why would we think of drinking urine if Modi gave us water?” he asked. 

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu in Chennai said that the problems of farmers concern the state administration now. On its part, the Union government given a drought relief of Rs 2,000 crore.

More than 20,000 offset printing presses in the state will remain closed on April 25 to express solidarity with the farmers, who were staging various forms of agitations in New Delhi to press their demands.  

Talking to UNI in Chennai on Saturday, South India Printers Association (SIPA) Convenor R Udhayakumar said, “To express solidarity with the agitating  farmers, we have asked all the printing presses in Tamil Nadu to shut shop on April 25. Though SIPA has more than 36,000 printing presses under its belt in the entire South India, we have asked all the units in Tamil Nadu alone to close their shops on that day,” he added. This meant that more than 20,000 printing presses, including 2,800 units in Sivakasi alone, the hub of the printing industry, will remain closed on Tuesday,” Udhayakumar said.