The State government had not reached out to those farmers who committed suicide or died of stress owing to failure of samba paddy crop in the delta district. Such was the callousness of the government, DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin said here on Thursday.
Mr. Stalin, who was here to campaign for his party candidate Anjugam Bhupathy, visited Keezha Thirupoonthuruthi village near Tiruvaiyaru to pay his respects to a farmer, Rajesh Kanna, who died of stress last week owing to the failure of samba paddy crop on his leased land. Mr. Stalin spoke to the farmer’s family members and handed over a sum of Rs. 1 lakh to Savithri, the farmer’s widow.
He said that neither the Ministers nor the government officials had reached out to the farmers who ended their lives or died of stress caused by the crop failure owing to water scarcity.
The ruling AIADMK did not even care to offer condolences to the bereaved families while Ministers were engrossed in electioneering, Mr. Stalin alleged. Such callousness was deplorable. The government should waive all loans availed of by the farmers and end their misery, he added.
While the previous AIADMK regime was “invisible,” the current dispensation seemed to be “ineffective,” Mr. Stalin said.
The present regime had become “slothful” and the electorate in the constituencies going to polls on November 19 have a chance to revitalise the administration by electing DMK candidates in those constituencies, Mr. Stalin said. He went around the city addressing roadside meetings from his campaign vehicle along with Ms. Anjugam Bhupathy. Former Minister K.N. Nehru and party MLAs accompanied Mr. Stalin.
