Tamil Nadu CM Stalin has time to appreciate movies but not realise farmers’ pain: Edappadi Palaniswami

The Leader of Opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, on Sunday (October 26, 2025), criticised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin over a recent social media post in which he appreciated the team behind the Tamil filmBison Kaalamaadan. 

“The hands of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, which should have held the hands of the paddy, are holding the hands of the cine team,” he said.

In a social media post, Mr. Palaniswami shared clippings of his recent visit to the Cauvery delta region and his interaction with farmers and said he could feel the “indescribable pain” of the farmers. But, the CM’s hands, which were supposed to have held the hands of the farmers, were holding of the hands of the cine team, he criticized.

“There is nothing wrong in watching movies and appreciating talented cinema team. But it is concerning to see that the Chief Minister has forgotten why he became the Chief Minister and has become a full-time cinema commentator,” Mr. Palaniswami charged. “Has he [the CM], who was moved by Jai Bhim, taken any steps to stop recurring lockup deaths such as Ajith Kumar [deceased in Thirupuvanam custodial death case] from happening?”

“The Chief Minister has time to watch movies from Jai Bhim to Coolie to Bison and to comment on them. Aren’t you the one who flew to Delhi for alliance talks when torrential rains pounded southern Tamil Nadu? Aren’t you the one who watched the movie Coolie when conservancy workers were staging a protest? Instead of sparing a thought about the pain of farmers, whose produce is sprouting in the rain, you are spending hours watching Bison movie.”

Referring to the death of 31 human lives so far in the monsoon, the former Chief Minister asked: “Did you have time to draft guidelines to protect the lives of people during the monsoon season? You would not even have time to meet the farmers, the poor and the downtrodden and listen to their grievances. The family dynasts have not realised the pain of the farmers and the people and the day they realise the might of democracy is not far.”

Thevar guru puja

On Sunday, the AIADMK announced that its functionaries would pay tributes to the statue of late freedom fighter Muthuramalinga Thevar on Anna Salai in Nandanam, Chennai on October 30, on the occasion of 118^th birth anniversary and 63^rd ‘guru puja’. Mr. Palaniswami is scheduled to pay tributes at Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram district on the same day.