‘EPS betrayed farmers; AIADMK a weed that needs to be removed’ | Chennai News – Times of India
Erode: Chief minister M K Stalin charged that AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has betrayed the farming community.Addressing the farmers after inaugurating the three day agriculture expo at Vijayamangalam in Erode district on Wednesday, Stalin said AIADMK was like a weed that needs to be removed. “As farmers, you must be aware that weeds that grow among crops should be removed,” Stalin said.“Recall the days when you were forced to hold protests to get your demands fulfilled when the AIADMK was in power,” he said, adding that life was a struggle for farmers during the AIADMK period and there were farmer suicides. “The circumstances have changed now,” Stalin said.Continuing his criticism of the AIADMK, Stalin said when farmers in New Delhi protested the three agricultural bills that the BJP brought, EPS had supported those laws, which was a betrayal of TN farmers.Calling upon farmers to back DMK in 2026 assembly election, Stalin said the Dravidian model govt’s version 2.0 will win again for sure in the poll and would continue to safeguard the interests of farmers. Stalin said his administration renamed the department as Agriculture and Farmers Welfare department and also presented an exclusive budget for agriculture sector. As a result of the emphasis on agriculture, TN has achieved a food grain production of 458 lakh metric tonnes. ‘The yield of food grains has risen from 2,235 kg per hectare in 2020-21 to 2,871 kg per hectare in 2024-25,” he said.Sharing statistics, Stalin said the cooperative sector has disbursed 62,352 in crop and livestock maintenance loans to 8.1 million farmers, special health camps for livestock have been organized, benefiting 2.6 million farmers and two lakh free agricultural electricity connections have been given across state.Stalin later proceeded to Salem where he received petitions and greeted people. He was felicitated by the public and party workers. He also honoured requests from students for selfies. At Mettur, he presided over a meeting with party functionaries.
