MDMK general secretary Vaiko has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give an appointment to the representatives of Tamil Nadu farmers who have been protesting in New Delhi in support of various demands.
In a letter to Mr Modi, a copy of which was released to the media here, Mr Vaiko said the monsoon failure, refusal of Karnataka to release Cauvery water despite Supreme Court, high cultivation cost, meagre price of the produce and loan burden had led to suicide of 400 farmers in 12 months.
He said hundreds of farmers led by advocate-turned-agriculturist Ayyakkannu had come to New Delhi and launched a peaceful protest at the Jantar Mantar.
“They have brought the skulls of the dead farmers to demonstrate that thousands of farmers will commit suicide if the debts are not waived. The State government demanded the Centre to provide ₹ 39,565 crore for drought relief. But to our shock, only ₹1658 crore had been allotted by the Centre, that too for the purpose of providing inputs for future cultivation.,” he said.
Recalling Mr. Modi’s assurance to farmers in Uttar Pradesh that all their debts would be written off, he said Tamil Nadu farmers had also demanded that their loans should be waived off.
He said the Cauvery Management Board should be constituted as per the directions of the Cauvery Water Tribunal and the Supreme Court.
