The Taml Nadu Cauvery Vivasayigal Sangam, one of the most vocal farmers’ organisations in the Cauvery delta region, has decided to contest the Lok Sabha election from Thanjavur opposing the “anti-farmer policies” of the BJP and the DMK governments at the Centre and in the State respectively.
“Both the governments are acting against the interests of farmers and there is no difference between the two. Hence we have decided to enter the fray in Thanjavur to register our opposition to their policies,” association general secretary P.R. Pandian told The Hindu on Monday.
The BJP government had failed the farmers on the issue of ensuring Minimum Support Price for farm produce and has unleashed force to quell their agitation, leading to one death recently on the Punjab-Haryana border.
The DMK government, on the other hand, has enacted the Tamil Nadu Land Consolidation (for Special Projects) Act, which favours the corporates and deprives farmers of their land. The State government has failed to strongly oppose the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s decision to refer the Karnataka’s proposal to build a balancing reservoir across the Cauvery at Mekadatu to the Central Water Commission, Mr. Pandian alleged.
The State government had detained farmers protesting against land acquisition under the Goondas Act and was seeking to push through a petrochemical cluster in the delta. “Opposing such policies, we have decided to field our candidate from the Thanjavur constituency,” Mr. Pandian told The Hindu.
The association has nominated its Thanjavur North district president and president of the Kavalur village panchayat, N. Senthil Kumar, for the seat. Mr. Senthilkumar will file his nomination on March 27. On Monday, Mr. Pandian declared open an election office of the candidate in Thanjavur.
“We request all apolitical, civil society, and farmers organisations to support our candidate. If the State government fails to mend its ways, we will field candidates in all constituencies in the next Assembly elections,” Mr. Pandian said.
