Stalin’s remarks on paddy incentive ‘baseless, politically motivated’: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday (April 12, 2026) said that the remarks recently made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on paddy incentives were “factually baseless, politically-motivated, and a deliberate distortion” designed to mislead the farmers of Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Stalin, during an Assembly election campaign in Thanjavur on Friday (April 10) last, contended that the Centre had advised the Tamil Nadu government to discontinue providing incentives for paddy procured from farmers, claiming it was leading to excessive production. He had said the DMK, however, would not give in and that no one can stop it from increasing the procurement price of paddy to ₹3,500 a quintal under the ‘Dravidian Model 2.0’ government.