Members of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance staging a protest near the Thanjavur Head Post Office on Sunday, condemning the Centre for refusing to relax the permissible moisture level for paddy procurement.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Members of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance staged a protest near the Thanjavur Head Post Office on Sunday, condemning the Union government for not relaxing the permissible moisture content in paddy and for allegedly failing to provide relief to delta farmers.
A.K.S. Vijayan, Special Representative of the Tamil Nadu Government in Delhi and State Secretary of the DMK Farmers’ Wing, presided over the protest.
Mr. Vijayan said former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had established direct paddy procurement centres across the delta districts after recognising the absence of adequate industrial opportunities in the region. Since then, paddy procured from these centres had been routinely supplied to the Union government, he said.
During every monsoon season, Tamil Nadu had been requesting the Centre to permit procurement of paddy with moisture levels up to 22%. “This year too, the Chief Minister wrote to the Union government and deputed officials to Delhi to seek the relaxation. But the Prime Minister has rejected the request without announcing any concession,” he said.
Mr. Vijayan criticised the Centre for attempting to roll back the free electricity scheme for farmers introduced by Karunanidhi. The protest was organised to condemn both decisions, he added.
DMK State Agricultural Labour Wing Secretary Anniyur Siva; former Union Minister S.S. Palanimanickam; Lok Sabha member S. Murasoli; MLAs Durai Chandrasekaran, T.K.G. Neelamegam, and K. Annadurai; MDMK Deputy General Secretary Aduthurai R. Murugan; CPI South District Secretary K. Sakthivel; CPI(M) District Secretary Chinnai Pandian; Dravidar Kazhagam leader C. Amarsingh; and VCK Central District Secretary K. Jayasankar took part in the protest.
Published – November 23, 2025 08:34 pm IST
