Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday rebutted Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the controversy surrounding paddy procurement incentives, asserting that his remarks were based entirely on official communication.
The exchange follows Sitharaman’s claim that Stalin’s allegation about instructions to halt paddy incentives was politically motivated.
Responding on social media platform X, Stalin stated that the Centre’s letter to the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary clearly mentioned that incentives provided by the State government for paddy procurement should be reviewed, citing increased yield as a reason.
He maintained that he had not said anything beyond what was contained in the letter and had no need to misrepresent facts.
Stalin further pointed out that while Sitharaman, in her response, said that providing incentives beyond the Minimum Support Price was the State’s prerogative, the contents of the letter appeared to suggest otherwise.
Challenging the Union Minister, Stalin asked whether she was willing to make the letter public if her claim was accurate, intensifying the political exchange over the issue.
