CPI(M) MLA for Gandharvakkottai M. Chinnadurai addresses farmers and trade union members at the protest in Pudukkottai.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Members of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and various trade unions staged a sit-in protest in Pudukkottai on Wednesday, condemning the “anti-people policies” of the Union government.
The demonstration marked the fifth anniversary of the formation of the Morcha in the district.
Wearing black armbands, farmers and labour union members gathered near Annasilai junction and held a dharna pressing for a series of policy rollbacks and welfare measures. The protest was led by SKM district coordinator T. Selvarasu and TOMSU district president A. Rethinam.
TOMSU district secretary K. Ganapathi, CITU district secretary A. Sridhar and AITUC district secretary P. Jeevanandam were among those present.
Addressing the protest, All India Agricultural Workers Union State president and CPI(M) MLA M. Chinnadurai, Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association State vice-president K. Ulaganathan and national committee member M. Madhavan, criticised the Centre’s policies, alleging that they adversely affected farmers and agricultural labourers. More than 300 participants from various unions and farmers bodies took part.
The protesters demanded minimum support price for all agricultural produce, waiver of loans availed by farmers and farm labourers, withdrawal of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020, and scrapping of the move to merge 44 labour welfare laws into four labour codes.
Other demands included filling vacant government posts, expanding MGNREGS to 200 days with a daily wage of ₹600, restoring the old pension scheme, expediting the Cauvery – Vaigai – Gundar river linkage project, ensuring compensation for crop-insured farmers directly from the government, and providing uninterrupted water supply to tail-end farmers in the Grand Anicut region.
Published – November 26, 2025 06:28 pm IST
