Months ahead of the Assembly elections in the state slated for April-May this year, the K Palaniswami-led AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu has announced a farm loan waiver worth Rs 12,110 crore. Chief Minister K Palaniswami said that 16.43 lakh farmers who have availed loans from cooperative banks will benefit from the move.

The chief minister made the announcement in Tamil Nadu Assembly. He said that the waiver comes into effect immediately and the financial allocation would be made by his government to meet the requirement.

The CM also promised to give free COVID-19 vaccine to all and pledged to make Tamil Nadu free of Coronavirus. He also assured that the government will take back all the cases registered in connection with Jallikattu protest except those connected with violence against Police and involving vandalism.

Attacking the opposition DMK, the CM said that AIADMK is the only party that fulfils its promises and undertakes various welfare measures.

The elections to the 234-seat Tamil Nadu Assembly are due around April-May this year. The election atmosphere has charged-up after the release of V K Sasikala, the former aide of late J Jayalalithaa, from prison last month after completing her sentence in a graft case. Ahead of her visit to Chennai on February 8, senior AIADMK leaders and Tamil Nadu ministers C V Shanmugam and D Vijayakumar yesterday met state DGP J K Tripathy and requested steps to prevent her from using the AIADMK flag. The ruling AIADMK handed a petition to the state police chief to restrain non-members of the party from using its flag.

While AIADMK is against Sasikala using the party flag, her nephew T T V Dhinakaran had cited pending litigations challenging the decision to oust Sasikala from the party and claimed that she continues to be the AIADMK general secretary.

Sasikala was discharged from a Bengaluru hospital on January 31 where she was undergoing treatment for COVID-19. She had left the hospital in a vehicle which was used by late Jayalalithaa. The vehicle had the AIADMK flag on it which sparked controversy and did not go well with the current AIADMK leadership.