DMK does not care welfare of farmers: Anbumani

CHENNAI: Citing a central government statistics about farmers' suicide in Tamil Nadu, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss alleged that the DMK government does not care for the welfare of the farmers.

"As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, as many as 631 farmers had committed suicide in 2023. In 2023, a whopping 19,483 persons died by suicide. After Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu was the state with second highest number of suicides. This is an example of Tamil Nadu becoming an unlivable state," Anbumani said in a statement.

He added that of the total suicides in the state, 631 persons were farmers. Of them, 564 persons had agriculture as their primary livelihood. Tamil Nadu has the fifth highest farmers' suicide in the country. "In 2022, 738 farmers committed suicide in Tamil Nadu. In 2021, as many as 599 farmers killed themselves. In three years since the DMK came to power, as many as 1968 farmers committed suicide," he added.

A committee constituted by the Supreme Court to study the reasons for farmers' suicide reported that farmers are making only Rs. 27 per day and they are entangled with debts due to lower procurement prices, he cited.

"Even though the committee suggested waiving off farm loans, the Tamil Nadu government is not implementing any schemes. During the AIADMK regime, the government announced a waiver of Rs. 12,110 Crore farm loans in cooperative banks. But, the election came. After coming to power DMK failed to implement the previous government's announcement," he alleged.

He also pointed out that the DMK government did not implement any irrigation scheme and failed to increase procurement prices. "Farmers, who are affected by the policies of DMK government, will teach it a lesson," he warned.