Reiterating the AIADMK government’s support to the Centre’s new agricultural laws, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday said the DMK’s opposition amounted to “sheer opportunism”.
“The laws contain important aspects on agriculture, present in the 2016 election manifesto of the DMK. It had, in the manifesto, clearly assured the farmers of good prices for their produce, in the national and international markets. The new laws are also aimed at addressing the same issue. The DMK is now opposing the laws; it is perplexing,” Mr. Palaniswami told reporters in Thennavarayanallur, near here, after visiting inundated paddy fields in various villages in Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur districts, affected by the two successive cyclones.
On whether he would support the laws “in his capacity as a farmer”, especially after vociferous protests by farmers across the country, the Chief Minister said he would, for sure, extend his support, owing to the assurance of guaranteed prices for the produce.
“As a proud farmer, I know the sufferings of the agricultural community, caused by the inability to get adequate prices for the produce due to various reasons. I support the laws as they will protect agriculture and interests of the farmers,” he said, adding that the AIADMK would support any scheme that would generate income for the farmers, and oppose any programme that would affect the community.
The Chief Minister said that farmers of Punjab had been under the control of agents and middlemen. Since the laws had provisions to avoid their role in fixing prices, they had instigated the farmers to protest.
The mandi system was not prevalent in Tamil Nadu. The State government had been at the forefront, ensuring minimum support price for the farmers’ produce, he said.
Taking strong exception to a comment by DMK president M.K. Stalin that the caste-wise census was a stunt of the AIADMK, Mr. Palaniswami said his party had been a pioneer in social justice since its inception.
The government had constituted a commission for caste-wise census to ensure due opportunity for all castes in jobs and education, he said.
The Chief Minister said the Chennai-Salem eight-lane expressway was a project of the Centre.
The role of the State is to facilitate land acquisition for it. It is the need of the hour because a State has to improve infrastructure, taking into consideration the growth in the number of vehicles.
Several countries have 16-lane expressways. Several hundreds of hectares of farmland were acquired by the Centre when DMK leader T.R. Baalu was the Transport Minister, the Chief Minister said.
Cyclone-hit fields
Earlier, Mr. Palaniswami, accompanied by Cabinet colleagues O.S. Manian in Nagapattinam and K.P. Anbalagan and K. Kamaraj in Tiruvarur, visited several cyclone-hit areas. With his dhoti folded, Mr. Palaniswami waded through paddy fields, fully and partially inundated due to heavy rain caused by the impact of Cyclones Nivar and Burevi.
Stating that the survey on flood damage was on, he assured the affected farmers that they would be duly compensated.