CHENNAI: DMK president MK Stalin on Thursday accused the ruling TVK government of betraying farmers on multiple fronts. He announced a massive protest led by Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin in Thanjavur on August 3, the day Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay is set to meet his Karnataka counterpart DK Shivakumar in Bengaluru for talks over Cauvery.
Reacting to it, TVK headquarters accused the DMK leadership of speaking “as though the party is still in power” and asserted TVK “will never allow the interests of Tamil Nadu’s farmers and people to be harmed.”
In his statement on X, Stalin listed four grievances against the state government: disappointment over crop loan waivers, lethargic approach to the Mekedatu dam issue, damage to kuruvai cultivation because Mettur dam has not been opened, and delay in convening an all-party meeting on Cauvery-related matters.
He added that the protest on Monday will demand firm steps to protect Cauvery water rights and a special relief package for delta farmers. Stalin also warned of larger agitations ahead.
TVK headquarters responded with an unnamed statement issued on X, dismissing the DMK’s charge of inaction on Mekedatu as self-indictive. “If the DMK leadership claims the Mekedatu issue arose only after May 10, 2026, isn’t it confessing as to who was actually sleeping on the issue?” the statement said.
“Even after being thrown out by the people of Tamil Nadu, speaking as though he (Stalin) is still the CM is what being out of touch with reality looks like - but as usual, there seems to be no one in the DMK to point this out to its leadership,” the statement read.
Govt, Assembly told to reply on AIADMK plea
Chennai: The Madras High Court on Thursday ordered notice to the state assembly secretary and the other respondents directing them to file a counter-affidavit to the petition filed by AIADMK challenging the amendment made to the June 19 Assembly resolution on Mekedatu issue, for adding a clause on the demand for setting up a tribunal to resolve the issue. The first bench of CJ Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan directed the respondents to file the counter-affidavits within two weeks and adjourned the hearing in the petition filed by the party’s Whip Agri SS Krishnamurthy.
Don’t hold talks with Karnataka: Anbumani to CM
Chennai: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Thursday urged Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay not to hold talks with the Karnataka CM on the proposed Mekedatu dam project, saying such a move would weaken Tamil Nadu’s long-standing opposition to the project. Speaking to reporters at Chennai airport before leaving for New Delhi, Anbumani challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to clearly state his stand on the issue. “If Rahul Gandhi says in one sentence that Karnataka should not build the Mekedatu dam, we are ready to quit the NDA alliance,” the RS MP stated.