Stalin, Sitharaman spar over procurement of paddy in Tamil Nadu

UNion finance government government minister Nirmala Sitharaman on mon intensified her assail on Tamil Nadu chief minister M K iosif vissarionovich dzhugashvili over the Centre’s letter on the state’s bonus policy for paddy procurement, accusing him of creating “false narratives” and attempting to drive a wedge between the Centre and the states.The minister also released a copy of the January 9 letter sent by expenditure secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam to the state government which is at the heart of the political firestorm. Tamil Nadu is scheduled to go to polls on April 23.She added that building food security required a constructive, continuous and positive engagement on agriculture with all stakeholders. “However, Stalin appears to continue with what he and his party are good at — draw a wedge between the Centre and states, create false narratives and project themselves as the protectors of farmers and other Tamil people,” she said.Addressing an election rally on April 11, Stalin claimed that the Centre had ordered the Tamil Nadu government to discontinue providing incentive for the paddy procured from farmers as it was leading to an increase in production.Sitharaman countered him on Sunday in a post on X, stressing that the communication sent to chief secretaries of all states was merely an advice to integrate the incentive policies with national priorities.Stalin insisted that he was only going by the letter sent to the state government, which pointed out that the state government should consider discontinuing the bonus since the state’s additional bonus for paddy led to bumper production. “I have not stated anything that is not present in that letter. Nor is there any need for me to,” Stalin said in a post on X on Monday, and dared the union minister to release the letter.Also Read:FM slams CM Stalin’s allegation over paddy procurement incentiveSitharaman shared the letter on X, stressing that the communication was “an invitation to share the responsibility of national food security. Most of the State Govts across party lines understood this and responded in the spirit of cooperative federalism. Only CM Thiru Stalin chose to sensationalise it. “.Observing that essential food items depend on imports and domestic food security becomes vulnerable to external shocks and price fluctuations, Sitharaman said, “That is not sustainable for a country of India’s size.”“Expanding domestic production of pulses and oilseeds is not only an economic necessity, but also a strategic need,” she wrote on X.“Doesn’t (Stalin) know that huge imports of palm oil is because our demand for edible oil is not adequately met with oil seeds supply. Similar is the issue with pulses. Farmers can get better prices for crops in which there is a supply-demand gap. Clearly, farmers’ interest is not in CM Stalin’s mind”, she said.Sitharaman said by encouraging the production of pulses, oilseeds and millets, India aims to achieve the twin objectives of ‘nutritional security’ through improved access to protein-rich crops and ‘economic stability’ by reducing the edible oil import bill.Noting that several state governments across party lines understood this concept and responded in the spirit of cooperative federalism, Sitharaman said, “Only CM Thiru Stalin chose to sensationalise it.”She argued that Stalin instead of “wasting time on anti-Centre rhetoric”, should explain to the people of Tamil Nadu “why he is effectively giving away opportunities to foreign interest rather than making us self-reliant in pulses and oilseeds”.Also Read:Sitharaman proposes committee to assess impact of AI, optimise employment potentialMaintaining that any chief minister would have welcomed the Centre’s view, Sitharaman said, “Stalin chose to distort a constructive suggestion into a manufactured grievance — because for the DMK, India’s strategic requirements are not a concern, they are an opportunity to score political points.”According to the state government’s policy note, in 2024-25, Tamil Nadu accounted for 4.72% of India’s paddy production, 6.13% of maize and 6.45% of groundnut production, respectively.During 2024-25, paddy accounted for 34.66% of the total gross cropped area. Thanjavur district emerged as the leading contributor with 2.10 lakh hectares under cultivation, followed by Tiruvarur district with 1.96 lakh hectares and Tiruvannamalai district with 1.85 lakh hectares, the document said.