Stalin demands emergency assembly session over TN farmers' issue

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) working president M.K. Stalin on Wednesday demanded the Tamil Nadu Speaker to convene an emergency assembly session to discuss the farmers' loan waiver issue.

"We met Tamil Nadu Speaker and demanded an immediate assembly session. We waited to meet chief minister but he did not meet us," he said.

Tamil Nadu farmers have been protesting in Delhi against the Centre and the state government for failing to provide relief against drought and the subsequent crop loss.

"Today Tamil Nadu farmers are suffering. They are protesting in Delhi, so we want to convene an assembly session to discuss the issue," Stalin added.

Earlier, the DMK had passed a resolution calling for a state-wide bandh on April 25 in a show of solidarity to the farmers.

The Tamil Nadu High Court directed the government to waive off loans for small farmers.

The over the month-long protest saw farmers resort to innovative acts of protest to draw attention to their problems.

They have been demanding Rs. 40,000 crore assistance from the Centre and waiver of crop loans by the state government.

On April 11, three farmers stripped themselves and protested naked in front of the Prime Minister Office after they were denied permission to meet Narendra Modi.

A delegation of farmers went to submit a petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, spelling out their list of demands.

However, they were prevented by the security personnel to meet him and were later forced to submit it to a lower-level PMO official.