New Delhi, April 12 -- Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday dismissed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's allegations that the Centre had asked the state to stop incentives for paddy cultivation, calling them "factually baseless" and a "deliberate distortion."

Responding to Stalin's remarks, Sitharaman said in a post on X that the Centre had merely suggested that states align their bonus policies with national priorities, such as encouraging crop diversification and achieving self-sufficiency in pulses and oilseeds. She emphasised that the declaration of a bonus over and above the Minimum Support Price (MSP) remains the prerogative of state governments.

Sitharaman accused Stalin of creating diversions to serve his "narrow, self-serving politi...