Farmers Movement Archive

CM should apologise for supporting farm Bills: Stalin

DMK president M.K. Stalin on Sunday said Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami should immediately apologise to the people of Tamil Nadu for his party’s support to the three Bills on agriculture reforms. “Only an apology will justify Palaniswami’s position as a Chief Minister,” he said. In a statement, Mr. Stalin recalled AIADMK Rajya Sabha member S.R. Balasubramoniyan’s speech rejecting the Chief Minister’s six-page statement in support of the Bills. “It is funny that the AIADMK supported the Bill in the Lok Sabha and opposed it in the Rajya Sabha. Mr. Palaniswami should apologise by telling people that he sacrificed the interest of the farmers to save himself and his Cabinet colleagues,” Mr. Stalin said. ‘A safety ring’ The BJP may offer a “safety ring” to the Chief Minister for the next six months on corruption charges, the DMK leader said, adding, “But he cannot escape the people’s verdict”. Accusing the Chief Minister of turning an apologist for the Centre and corporate houses by supporting the three Bills, Mr. Stalin said as a Chief Minister, Mr. Palaniswami’s stand had set a wrong precedent. “A total of 13 political parties, including the allies of the BJP, are opposing the Bills. Only the AIADMK, and three more political parties, are supporting them. Mr. Palaniswami should apologise with folded hands to the farmers, saying that he was left with no option but to support the Bills as he had to protect himself and his Cabinet colleagues from corruption cases,” the DMK chief said. Mr. Stalin said that instead of reading all the Bills carefully before issuing a statement, the Chief Minister had chosen to issue one written by a ghost writer. “It is totally meaningless to say that the Bills will benefit the farmers,” he said. Stock-holding limit Reacting to the Chief Minister’s argument that the removal of the stock-holding limit would prevent corporates from hoarding, Mr. Stalin said it was not just a blatant lie, but a design to support the commercial conspiracies of corporate houses. Mr. Stalin also cited an editorial in The Hindu , “Market failure” , that said, “When Bihar removed the APMC system, markets suffered loss of free revenue, with no significant private investments... Rather than opt for heavy centralisation, the emphasis should be on empowering farmers through State Farmers’ Commissions, to bring out speedy government responses to issues.”

The Hindu

2020-09-21

CHENNAI,TAMIL NADU