I am a proud farmer, but Stalin knows nothing about agri: EPS

MADURAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswamy in his address at Ramanathapuram on Tuesday said he felt a great sense of pride in being a farmer and ‘I was born into a farmer’s family’. But, opposition leader and DMK president MK Stalin knew nothing about agriculture and therefore Stalin need not make effort to figure out my own identity. He said that ‘I am a farmer, and did not require any endorsement from Stalin’

Since there’s nothing defective in the AIADMK rule, Stalin could hardly find fault and hence, he’s criticising every move of the government, the Chief Minister told reporters, who visited Ramanathapuram to review Covid control measures in the district.

Taking a dig at the DMK, Palaniswamy said it’s obvious that Stalin during his tenure signed a pact for letting methane gas extraction project and hydrocarbon project in the Cauvery delta region and was keen in implementing it though it was against the interest of farmers. But, the AIADMK passed a bill in the Assembly declaring the Cauvery delta region as a ‘Protected Agriculture Zone.’

To a query on AIADMK MP SR Balasubramoniyan’s remarks against the farm bills, he said his party would seek explanation from him.

Further responding, he said Ramanathapuram would have Government Medical College Hospiat a cost of Rs.345 crore and Government Law college at Rs.76 crore in the district, but Fisheries University was set up in Nagapattinam and such a facility could be witnessed in Ramnad in a phased manner. More importantly, the mammoth Cauvery-Gundar river link project, for which foundation would be laid in January.

On the multi crore scam case targeting teachers in the district, he said as many as 452 complaints have been received and the case was transferred to the Economic Offences Wing on September 1 and added that the guilty would not be spared.