Cuddalore: Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the general secretary of the AIADMK, launched a scathing attack against the ruling DMK on Sunday, March 31, 2024, accusing them of disregarding farmers and failing to honour numerous commitments made to the agricultural sector over the past three years, reported The Hindu.
Addressing a gathering of farmers in Chidambaram, Palaniswami lamented the government’s failure to fulfil promises such as procuring sugarcane at ₹4,000 per tonne and paddy at ₹2,500 per quintal.
Palaniswami emphasised that had the government ensured farmer coverage under the crop insurance scheme, they would have been eligible for compensation amounting to ₹84,000 per hectare. Drawing a comparison, he pointed out that the AIADMK government had provided compensation of ₹1.04 lakh per hectare for crop damage. In contrast, the current administration, led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, announced a significantly lower compensation of ₹13,500 per hectare for affected kuruvai paddy crops in the delta region.
Expressing dismay over the underutilisation of the cooperative sugar mill situated in the Assembly constituency of Agriculture Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam, Palaniswami noted that only 80,000 tonnes of sugarcane had been crushed so far out of an expected 3 lakh tonnes. Consequently, cane farmers were compelled to sell their produce to private mills, he remarked.
Asserting his understanding of the plight of farmers, Palaniswami urged people to support the AIADMK in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to safeguard the rights of Tamil Nadu farmers. He pledged to exert pressure on the Centre to address the pertinent issues faced by farmers.
