# DMK legislators wear black to protest during Tamil Nadu agriculture budget 2026-08-06T06:15:40+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk DMK legislators led by Udhayanidhi Stalin attended Thursday's Agriculture Budget presentation in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in black shirts, protesting what the party called the ruling TVK government's failure to secure Cauvery water and to block Karnataka's proposed dam at Mekedatu, The Hindu reported. Agriculture Minister R. Vinoth opened his budget speech by praising Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and the TVK government, including a reference to the party's whistle election symbol, which he said was the first raga produced by air. DMK members objected to the length of these introductory remarks, prompting Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar to ask the minister to keep to the budget. The Speaker also acknowledged Dairy Development Minister Vijayalakshmi and Animal Husbandry Minister Kamali during the sitting. The report carries no independent check of the Cauvery claim and no reply from the state government on it. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Two things sit side by side in this account: a procedural moment on the floor, with Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar asking R. Vinoth to confine himself to the Budget speech after DMK members objected to his opening tribute to the chief minister and the party symbol, and a political charge, the DMK's claim that the TVK government has failed on Cauvery water and on Karnataka's proposed dam at Mekedatu, which the report does not test. The black shirts put that claim on the record, they do not settle it. A reply from the TVK government on the Cauvery and Mekedatu charge, on the Assembly floor where the Agriculture Budget was tabled on 6 August 2026, would be the next entry on the record. ## Coverage - www.thehindu.com Tags: Tamil Nadu, Udhayanidhi Stalin Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/on-day-of-agriculture-budget-dmk-mlas-wear-black-over-tvk-led-governments-failure-on-cauvery-issue/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/on-day-of-agriculture-budget-dmk-mlas-wear-black-over-tvk-led-governments-failure-on-cauvery-issue/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.