Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman intensified her attack on Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin 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 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.
Sitharaman stated 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 — drawing a wedge between the Centre and states, creating false narratives and projecting themselves as the protectors of farmers and other Tamil people.
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, 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.
Sitharaman shared the letter, 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.'
