AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Saturday dismissed the ₹78.67-crore kuruvai package announced by the DMK government as “a drama of deception”.
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In a statement, he said ₹24.5 crore from this amount was set aside for works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Providing the remaining amount was akin to “offering a corn kernel to a hungry elephant” and would not lessen the hardship of farmers, he added.
Insurance cover
He also blamed the government for not getting the crop, to be raised during the kuruvai season, covered under the agricultural insurance scheme for the third year in a row. Besides, there was no mention of the supply of three-phase power supply to farmers during the season, he said.
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The package was a “cover-up” for the DMK government’s “crime” of not securing the State its due share of Cauvery water from Karnataka, despite the party being an ally of the Congress, which is in power in the neighbouring State, in the INDIA bloc.
He recalled how the AIADMK government had taken several measures for the benefit of the farmers.
Attack condemned
In a post on social media, Mr. Palaniswami condemned the attack on the office of the CPI(M) in Tirunelveli as the party had organised an inter-caste marriage. Describing the incident as another example of “deterioration of law and order”, he urged the DMK government to take action against the culprits.