Sasikala issues statement on paddy procurement, signs it as AIADMK gen sec

Chennai, Nov 6 (IANS) Former interim general secretary of the AIADMK and close aide of late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, V.K. Sasikala has asked the Tamil Nadu government to speed up paddy procurement.

In a statement on Saturday, Sasikala, signing it as the party general secretary, said that farmers were complaining that they were incurring losses as paddy in the bags was getting wet in the rain during the northeast monsoon lashing Tamil Nadu.

She called upon the state government to clear the dues of the farmers, especially in the delta region of the state.

Sasikala, who is trying for a comeback to the AIADMK, said that several thousand bags of paddy were at the Direct Procurement Centres and still to be procured. Farmers are forced to cover them with tarpaulin sheets. She asked the government to immediately take steps to procure the paddy before it becomes spoiled.

Sasikala is in the news for staking claim to a comeback to the AIADMK with former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam announcing that her return will be decided by the party high command. A section of party leaders led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami is opposing her re-entry into the party fold with former fisheries minister D. Jayakumar stating that she would never be allowed into the AIADMK.

She had recently, during the golden jubilee celebrations of the party's formation, reached the MGR memorial in a car with an AIADMK flag and displayed a plaque announcing her as the party general secretary.