Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday described the agriculture budget presented by Agriculture Minister R Vinoth as "absolute nothing."
Addresssing reporters outside the Assembly, Udhayanidhi accused Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay of "betraying" farmers and failing to deliver on key election promises.
He further criticized the government for not convening an all-party meeting on the Cauvery issue.
Led by the DMK youth wing leader, the opposition party MLAs arrived at the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly wearing black shirts to mark their protest against the state government's alleged "inaction" regarding farm loan waivers and the escalating Mekedatu dam crisis.
Udhayanidhi accused the administration for "merely rebranding" existing schemes while failing to address core issues facing the agrarian community.
"Absolutely nothing," he said about the agriculture budget.
"We have been consistently calling for an all-party meeting on the Cauvery and Mekedatu issues. We need to demonstrate that all political parties in Tamil Nadu stand united on this front. But as usual, the chief minister remains silent and refuses to respond," Udhayanidhi said.
Criticising the government's unfulfilled poll pledges, the opposition leader highlighted that despite promising complete crop loan waivers for farmers holding up to five acres, the state had repeatedly defaulted on its word.
Udhayanidhi said that although the crop loan waiver was initially capped at Rs 50,000 and later increased to Rs 75,000 following sustained pressure from farmers, they continue to demand the complete waiver that was originally promised.
Referring to the inter-state water dispute, he alleged that Karnataka had unilaterally refused to release Tamil Nadu's rightful share of Cauvery water. He further claimed that Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had declined to hold talks on the issue, leaving Tamil Nadu's farmers in distress.
DMK legislators have submitted a notice to the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker seeking an adjournment motion immediately after Question Hour to discuss the Cauvery dispute and the hardships faced by farmers in the state.
"We believe the Speaker will give us an opportunity to raise these issues," he said.
Claiming that farmers have been suffering for the past three months and have been staging continuous protests, Udhayanidhi said, "We wore black shirts today in solidarity with them. The DMK will always stand by our farmers." He also challenged the Chief Minister to address these critical issues on the floor of the Assembly.
Stalin calls agri budget "hollow"
Meanwhile, DMK president and former Chief Minister M K Stalin described the Agriculture Budget as "hollow." He urged the Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay-led government to "wake up."
In a post on X, Stalin alleged that the TVK government's maiden Agriculture Budget had failed to address key issues such as drought and the crop losses suffered by farmers.
"Instead of addressing the drought, the Tamil Nadu Agriculture Budget 2026 served merely as a platform to heap praise on the Chief Minister," he said.
(With inputs from PTI)