AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) has strongly criticized Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for prioritizing cinema engagements while the state’s farmers grapple with rain-damaged crops and a severe agricultural crisis.Speaking on Sunday, EPS alleged that Stalin was preoccupied with attending film events, such as meetings with film crews, instead of addressing the urgent needs of the farming community whose paddy crops are rotting in rain-soaked fields.
EPS called attention to the plight of farmers in the Cauvery delta and other regions, where paddy cultivated with great effort is at risk of being lost due to untimely and excessive rainfall. He contrasted his empathy for farmers with what he described as Stalin’s “movie obsession,” arguing that the Chief Minister’s hands were busy with film personalities while farmers’ hands were full of ruined crops.
EPS also pointed out that, previously, each procurement centre handled up to 1,000 bags of paddy during the AIADMK regime, but under the DMK this has decreased sharply, leaving lakhs of paddy bags uncollected and vulnerable to further damage.
The AIADMK leader further criticized the DMK government for failing to increase the permissible moisture content for paddy procurement to accommodate the effects of unpredictable rain. According to EPS, the state’s disaster response has also been lacking, as evidenced by recent monsoon-related fatalities and continuing farmer distress. He warned that a government indifferent to the needs of farmers “will soon face the people’s verdict.”