Chennai, Nov 20, 2025

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday criticised the Union government for rejecting the State’s request to relax moisture norms for paddy procurement in the wake of widespread rains.

The State had sought a temporary increase in the permissible moisture content from 17 per cent to 22 per cent to prevent financial loss to farmers whose harvested paddy had been exposed to incessant rainfall over the past weeks.

Calling the Centre’s decision “yet another betrayal of Tamil Nadu”, Stalin took to social media to question why the Union government, and particularly the Prime Minister, refused to accept a request rooted in the urgent needs of farmers.

“Could the Prime Minister not hear Tamil Nadu’s plea to procure paddy with higher moisture content due to heavy

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