Udhayanidhi, EPS flay TVK govt over crop loan waiver

Chennai: Leader of Opposition in the assembly Udhayanidhi Stalin and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday slammed TVK govt for its crop loan waiver announcement, saying that chief minister C Joseph Vijay diluted the party’s poll promise of a complete waiver for small farmers.

In a post on X, Udhayanidhi said Vijay assured during the election campaign that all crop loans taken by farmers owning up to five acres would be waived, but the govt now restricted the benefit to loans up to ₹50,000. “This is an injustice to farmers and a breach of trust. They are carrying out a scam in the name of crop loan waiver. Should people mentally prepare themselves for more such deceptions from the CM,” he asked.

The DMK youth wing secretary accused the ruling party of backtracking on its promise of free electricity as well. He said TVK initially promised 200 units of free power for all, but later excluded consumers using more than 500 units from the decision.

Palaniswami too criticised Vijay’s announcement, terming it a “scientific scam” carried out under the guise of relief for micro and small farmers. Comparing the present scheme with the waiver announced during the AIADMK regime in 2021, he said crop loans worth ₹12,110 crore were waived then, while the current waiver covered only ₹2,044 crore.

“Farmers will realise that this announcement is a farce. No govt that cheated farmers has remained in power for long,” Palaniswami said.