The Tamil Nadu government has been taking steps to control the increasing price of yarn in the State and it has taken up the issue with the Union Ministers, Minister for Industries Thangam Thennarasu said in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Attributing the price increase to “geopolitical changes” and other factors, he said the State was aware of the important issue highlighted by the MLAs and recounted the steps being taken by the government.
Recalling his visit to Delhi along with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Mr. Thennarasu said the Chief Minister had highlighted the issue at his meetings with the Union Ministers and expressed the hope that the Union government would favourably consider Tamil Nadu’s request.
Earlier, several MLAs moved a special call attention motion on the increasing yarn price. In his reply, Minister for Handlooms and Textiles R. Gandhi recalled his virtual meetings with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and said she listened to the concerns raised by the State.
Mr. Gandhi also recalled the letters written by Mr. Stalin to the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry on November 27, 2021, and January 18 and February 12 this year, pressing for measures to bring the price down.
In his detailed reply tabled in the House, Mr. Gandhi said, “The issue of cotton export comes under the ambit of the Union government. Major producers such as Gujarat and Maharashtra are controlling the cotton trade.”
AIADMK MLA P. Thangamani (Kumarapalayam) highlighted the hardships being faced by textile workers and urged for resumption of the free dhoti and sari scheme for construction workers, which was announced by the AIADMK government.
Mr. Thangamani also urged the government to hold talks with the stakeholders to ensure that the rate of yarn was fixed for a whole month, as against the current method of being revised multiple times a day. Congress MLA J.G. Prince (Colachel), PMK floor leader G.K. Mani (Pennagaram), Tiruchengodu MLA E.R. Eswaran, Panruti MLA T. Velmurugan and the CPI’s T. Ramachandran underscored the need for bringing the yarn price down.
