Tiruchirappalli: A consultative meeting of a federation representing more than 50 farmers' associations was held in the Samayapuram area of Tiruchirappalli district on Saturday to press the demand for a complete waiver of cooperative crop loans in Tamil Nadu.
Source: ANI
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association founder Eesan Murugasamy urged the state government and Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to waive a minimum of ₹1 lakh in crop loans for all farmers, without discrimination or conditions.
Murugasamy demanded that the government remove the eligibility condition restricting the benefit to farmers who had taken loans within an 11-month period, and extend the waiver to all eligible farmers who had been left out. He also said the waiver should be granted on the basis of landholdings rather than being limited to only one member of a family, pointing out that several members of the same family may be engaged in farming.
He urged the government to review the waiver scheme for a fifth time — the scheme has already been reviewed four times — and extend the ₹1 lakh relief to all farmers. He warned that the federation would launch continuous protests if its demands were not met, and said harassment of farmers and seizure of their properties in the name of loan recovery would not be acceptable.
Detentions at Samayapuram sparked the latest row
The meeting followed the detention of protesting farmers at Samayapuram earlier this week. BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran said on X that 252 farmers were arrested near Samayapuram in Tiruchirappalli district while attempting a hunger strike demanding the crop loan waiver promised in the TVK's election manifesto, and he condemned the arrests. The Hindu reported on October 23 that more than 200 farmers were detained at Samayapuram during the protest.
Source: The Hindu via Tech Word News
The farmers say the waiver was an assurance given by the ruling TVK in its election manifesto. The state government has not yet announced any change to the scheme's eligibility conditions in response to Saturday's meeting.