24-05-2025
Stalin meets Modi in New Delhi; places slew of demands for Tamil Nadu's development
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on the sidelines of the 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog and presented him a memorandum outlining several demands related to the development of the State.
Speaking to media after the meeting, Mr. Stalin said he had requested the Prime Minister to release funds for Samagra Shiksha scheme, approval for the proposed metro rail projects in Coimbatore and Madurai, expansion of the airports in Coimbatore and Madurai, handing over the operation and maintenance of Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) in Chennai to Chennai Metro Rail Limited, and widening the Chengalpattu-Tindivanam National Highway into a eight-lane road.
Further, he demanded the establishment of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Coimbatore, changing the nomenclature of some communities in the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, inclusion of Dalit Christians into Scheduled Caste list and immediate release of fishermen from Tamil Nadu apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy.
He also said he had thanked the Prime Minister for releasing funds for the Chennai Metro Rail Phase II Project and expressed hope that Mr. Modi will consider his slew of demands.
Mr. Stalin, while responding to a question on criticism from Opposition parties regarding his participation in the NITI Aayog meeting, said: 'Mr. Palaniswami [AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami] had said I am waving a white flag. I don't have any white flag. Only he has a saffron flag.'
When asked about his meeting with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the Chief Minister said: 'It was a courtesy visit. Whenever I come to Delhi, I meet them. We also spoke politics,' he added. To a question on alleged financial irregularities in the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) and sand quarries, Mr. Stalin said: 'It is false propaganda.'
