Oppn protests CM’s remark against Jaya

The issue came to an end when Balakrishnan and his party coleagues walked-out of the House `protesting’ against Karunanidhi’s `derogatory’ remarks against the Opposition parties and AIADMK, CPI, CPM and INL members followed suit. Earlier in the day, the TMC, and its alliance parties, including the AIADMK, staged a walk-out `protesting’ against the state government’s refusal to raise the sugarcane procurement price to Rs 1,000 per tonne; paddy price by Rs 100 per quintal; and waive farmers’ cooperative loans. The members, who walked-out when Agriculture Minister Veerapandi S Arumugam moved the demand for grants for his department, returned a few minutes later.

After the TMC walked-out for the second time, Karunanidhi made a dig at it saying he was thinking that those `some persons’ he referred to were someone else. But they (TMC), by staging the walk-out, had converted such an imagination into a reality. “I thank them”, he said.

The issue started when Karunanidhi, referring to a member’s statement on the DMK’s resolution promising that it would strive for providing Rs 1000 per tonne as procurement price for the sugarcane farmers, said that what the party promised in the election manifesto was more important. Even the DMK had once passed a resolution seeking a separate `Dravida Naadu’. But it was dropped (not pursued) later. The Congress party, during the leadership of A G Subramania Iyer had even passed a resolution in support of the British rule. But later changed its stand.

Referring to his earlier promise of providing Rs 1,000 as sugarcane procurement price, he said: “Leave us to complete the five year term. We will fulfill the promise. Already the sugarcane farmers are paid over Rs 900 per tonne for 8.5 per cent recovery. All the promises could not be fulfilled in just two or three years after coming to power. This regime is going to continue and it is not going to end.” After this the chief minister made the remark about Jayalalitha vis-a-vis the AIADMK cadres drawing loud protests from the TMC and the AIADMK.