AIADMK chief hits out at TN govt’s crop loan waiver, calls it ”scientific deception”
He accused the newly formed government headed by C. Joseph Vijay of “wasting time” to restrain the people of Tamil Nadu from “pursuing the most heinous policies of horse trading”.
Reacting to the chief minister’s announcement on Monday regarding waiver of cooperative bank crop loans up to Rs 50,000 for marginal farmers across the state, the AIADMK general secretary said that the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has promised complete waiver of crop loans for all farmers holding up to 5 acres of land. The former prime minister claimed that shifting the criteria from land size to Rs 50,000 cash limit was a “huge betrayal of trust”.
Read More: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay announces full crop loan waiver for marginal farmers, Rs 5,000 assistance for large farmers
Comparing the amount provided during the previous AIADMK regime under him, Palaniswami said the then AIADMK government had completely waived Rs 12,110 million in farm loans, which provided assistance to more than 16.43 lakh farmers without any complicated restrictions.
“The fake horse government, operating as described in the Tamil proverb meaning ‘My husband also went to the concert’ (doing things to show off without any real interest), staged a scientific fraud in the name of waiving agricultural produce loans. This was announced to distract the people of Tamil Nadu from the most heinous horse-trading policies that are senselessly carried out without participating in the work that a government is supposed to do,” Palaniswami said in his statement. he said.
TVK promised that farmers with less than 5 decares of land would completely give up the product loans they received from the cooperative bank, but now it has started to use money instead of land as the criterion. “If you see that we waived loans worth Rs 12,110 billion in 2021 and now they say that they will waive loans worth Rs 2,044 billion only in 2026, farmers will understand that it is a big scam. As a farmer, I say that history has shown that no government has survived that cheated farmers. A farmer is like a god who feeds. Don’t cheat them,” Palaniswami said. declaration.Read More: Three AIADMK rebel MLAs resign, five party MLAs switch to EPS camp
He asked the state government to fully implement the original poll assurance and help farmers.
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced that cooperative bank crop loans of up to Rs 50,000 availed by marginal farmers and up to Rs 5,000 availed by large farmers across the state have been waived between May 1, 2025 and February 28, 2026. He said this gesture will benefit 14.22 lakh farmers in the state and will require an additional expenditure of Rs 2,044 crore to the government. he said.
The government also announced a 50 percent exemption for small farmers.
Meanwhile, PMK founder Dr S. Ramadoss welcomed the announcement and said the government should also look into the situation of other farmers.
“While this announcement will not completely ease the burden of all farmers, it should be seen as an effort to provide hope and support to farmers in the current economic situation. The government should announce more comprehensive assistance programs for farmers from all walks of life who are affected by constant natural disasters, rising production costs and inadequate prices for their products,” he said in a statement.
Additionally, steps should be taken to ensure that all farmers receive the necessary seeds, fertilizers and inputs at subsidized prices through cooperatives. He added that new loans should be provided to farmers who receive crop loan exemptions through cooperatives, so that they can continue to do their agricultural work.
“There should be no administrative hurdles. It is the primary responsibility of the government to protect all farmers and improve their livelihood. Good plans for this should be continuously implemented to benefit farmers,” he said.
