Tamil Nadu farmers call off Jantar Mantar agitation after CM Palaniswami's assurance

NEW DELHI: The farmers from Tamil Nadu who were protesting for over a month here asking for their loans to be waived off ended their agitation on Sunday evening after chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami visited them at Jantar Mantar and promised to look into their demands.

Palaniswami assured the protesters that he will submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the plight of farmers and ask him to waive off their loans. The farmers have been demanding a Rs 40,000-crore drought relief package, farm loan waiver and setting up of the Cauvery Management Board by the Centre. They have also said that the drought in Tamil Nadu, the worst drought in 140 years, has aggravated their situation.

Earlier this month, Palaniswami had discussed the issue with finance minister Arun Jaitley and home minister Rajnath Singh. After meeting the farmers, Palaniswami said that he has discussed farmers’ issue in the meeting and has forwarded their demands to PM Modi.

The farmers, however, said if their demands were not fulfilled they will start their protest again after May 25. “We will leave today if we get tickets but we are sure that if our demands are not met, we shall come back,” one of the protesting farmers said.

These farmers, from different parts of Tamil Nadu, have been protesting uniquely for the past 40 days. They have shaved their heads and half their moustaches, put mice and snakes in their mouths, conducted mock funerals, flogged themselves, stripped at Raisina Hill, and carried skulls of farmers who committed suicide due to debt pressure. On Saturday, the farmers said they will drink urine since there was no water in the state but were persuaded not to by Delhi Police.

The farmers have met multiple political leaders, including Jaitley, water resources minister Uma Bharti, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, and Pon Radhakrishnan, minister of state for road transport and highways, during their protest.

The farmers were also critiqued for blaming the Centre when the State was not able to do anything for them. “Now that the CM has come to meet us and given us the promise, we want to wait and see if he can help us,” another farmer said.