DMK president M.K. Stalin on Saturday said Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami should release ₹30,000 per acre as relief to farmers whose crops were damaged by the cyclone if he was serious about escaping from their anger.
“The tears of farmers will not go waste and lead to the fall of the AIADMK government,” he said in a statement.
Mr. Stalin said though the government announced ₹74 crore as relief, there were no details about how it would be distributed. “The government claims that it has sought ₹3,758 crore from the Centre after the Central team visited the flood affected areas. Even 15 days after the crops were affected, farmers have not been given any assistance so far,” he said.
He said while he wanted the government to distribute ₹5,000 to people and ₹10,000 for farmers as an interim relief, the Chief Minister had not done anything. “Instead he is participating in stone-laying ceremonies for the schemes that will never see the light of the day. He is interested only in projecting himself to gain political mileage,” he alleged.
Mr. Stalin said he was told that the AIADMK government was actually planning to give just ₹15,000 per acre as it was done in the past.
“In the last 10 years that AIADMK government has received just ₹6,187 crore from the Centre as a disaster relief fund even though it sought ₹1.14 lakh crores. The Chief Minister is using his proximity to the BJP government only to save his chair and is not interested in getting adequate relief to farmers,” he said.
The DMK president said ₹3,758 crore was not adequate and the State government should ask more from the Centre. “The DMK MPs are ready to put pressure on the Centre to get adequate funds for Tamil Nadu,” he said.
