Addressing reporters outside the Assembly, Udhayanidhi hit back at the administration for “merely rebranding” existing schemes while failing to address core issues facing the agrarian community. But as usual, the chief minister remains silent and refuses to respond,” Udhayanidhi said. Udhayanidhi noted that while the initial waiver cap was announced at Rs 50,000 and later revised to Rs 75,000 following intense demand from farmers, farmers continue to demand the total waiver originally promised. He alleged that the Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar had flatly declined talks on the matter, leaving Tamil Nadu farmers stranded. The DMK will always stand by our farmers”, he said and “challenged” the Chief Minister to address these critical concerns on the Assembly floor”.