The Department of Expenditure’s letter to state chief secretaries urging them to align their bonus policy to promote pulses, oilseeds and millets was an advisory, and not a directive, a press statement issued by the Finance Ministry said on Sunday.
The statement was issued in context of a speech made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, calling the advisory a “treacherous act against the farmers”.
In a post on social media, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the remarks made by Stalin, alleging that the Union government directed Tamil Nadu not to provide incentives for paddy cultivation —is factually baseless, politically motivated, and a deliberate distortion designed to mislead Tamil Nadu’s farmers.
“The declaration of a bonus over and above the Minimum Support Price (MSP) has been, and remains, entirely the prerogative of State Governments. No one has taken that power away…CM Stalin is deliberately creating diversions to serve his narrow, self-serving political interests, instead of adopting a positive approach and working in the national interest,” Sitharaman said.
“The letter was written with the intent for states to align their agricultural policies with broader national priorities and complement them. Alignment with such goals is not a burden on states; it is a shared responsibility that serves farmers, consumers and the country as a whole,” the finance ministry said.
