Protesting TN farmers meet Pranab, Jaitley

A delegation of Tamil Nadu farmers protesting at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi met President Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and other top guns of the Centre, and put forth their demands, including waiver of farms loans and drought relief package.

Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai, who visited the agitating farmers on Tuesday for a second time, assured them that the issue would be placed before Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the earliest.

"We have met the ministers concerned and have even raised the issue in Parliament. It is not just the issue of one state, but pan-India. We will be meeting the PM on this," said Thambidurai.

MDMK general secretary Vaiko, who took part in the ongoing protest by Tamil Nadu farmers at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday, on Tuesday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant an appointment to the representatives of the agitating farmers "as early as possible for which crores and crores of farmers will be thankful" to the PM.

"Due to the failure of monsoon, adamant denial of Karnataka government despite the orders of the Supreme Court to release water in Cauvery, high cost of cultivation, meagre price of the produce, about 400 farmers in Tamil Nadu have committed suicide over a period of 12 months," he wrote to Modi.

Already, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan and DMK Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi among others met the farmers, it may be recalled. Actors Vishal, Prakash Raj, Ramana and director Pandiraj too met them.