DMK slams TVK's maiden agriculture budget, demands all-party meet on Cauvery & Mekedatu issues
The DMK on Thursday, Aug 6 criticised the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government's first agriculture budget as lacking substantive measures for farmers and demanded an all-party meeting on the Cauvery water dispute and the Mekedatu issue.
Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin called the budget "disappointing," saying it merely rebranded existing programmes rather than offering farmers meaningful relief, and accused Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay of failing to fulfil key election promises, including a comprehensive crop loan waiver.
DMK legislators arrived at the Tamil Nadu Assembly wearing black shirts to protest what the party described as the government's inaction on farm loan waivers and the Mekedatu dispute with Karnataka.
"We have been consistently calling for an all-party meeting on the Cauvery and Mekedatu issues. We need to demonstrate that all political parties in Tamil Nadu stand united on this front. But as usual, the chief minister remains silent," Udhayanidhi told the reporters outside the Assembly.
He alleged the government had merely renamed existing schemes instead of introducing meaningful relief measures for farmers. Udhayanidhi said the administration had first announced a waiver limit of Rs 50,000 and later raised it to Rs 75,000, but farmers were still awaiting the full waiver promised during the election campaign.
On the Cauvery dispute, he claimed Karnataka had not released Tamil Nadu's due share of water and said the state government had failed to build a united political response.
The DMK submitted an adjournment motion seeking a discussion in the Assembly on the Cauvery issue and the condition of farmers. The party has given notice to the Speaker to raise the matter immediately after Question Hour on Friday, insisting the chief minister must respond.
"Farmers have been suffering for the past three months and are holding continuous protests. We wore black shirts today in solidarity with them. The DMK will always stand by our farmers," Udhayanidhi said.
Other opposition parties also criticised the budget. DMDK leader Premalatha Vijayakanth called it disappointing for omitting the 100-day employment scheme, paddy storage godown protection and productivity incentives for paddy, sugarcane, banana and coconut, and accused the government of renaming old schemes without delivering real change. AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami said the budget "cheats farmers," noting that Vijay's election promises — including Rs 4,500 per tonne as the support price for sugarcane and Rs 15,000 twice a year in sowing-period assistance — were absent from both the general and agriculture budgets.
Agriculture Minister R. Vinoth presented the state's 2026-27 Agriculture Budget on Thursday- the first standalone agriculture budget of the TVK government headed by Vijay. The chief minister had earlier announced a special Kuruvai support package worth Rs 134.83 crore, under which cultivation has been taken up on 8.26 lakh acres this season, according to the budget presentation.
(With inputs from PTI)