Vijay skips Congress meet in Delhi, focuses on Mekedatu, funding push in talks with PM, FM

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay returned to Chennai on Thursday after concluding his maiden official visit to the national capital. He skipped meeting the Congress leaders in Delhi. Congress MP Christopher Tilak said the meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi did not take place as the chief minister has confined his visit to the official programme and not for political engagements. He claimed that Vijay's meeting with Rahul Gandhi has only been deferred and not cancelled, as speculated. "The chief minister is likely to come to Delhi around June 11 for the Niti Aayog meeting, and I think he would meet our leaders Rahul and Sonia Gandhi then," Tilak told reporters in the national capital. Vijay wound up his Delhi trip and returned to Chennai by a special flight.

The chief minister met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and discussed matters concerning the state, including the Mekedatu dam issue, fishermen arrests and the Tamil invocation song row. In addition, he met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and handed over a memorandum to prioritise funding for ports, national highways, railway projects and industrial corridors that are crucial for Tamil Nadu's development. The CM raised the issue of the Tamil Thai Vazhthu (Tamil invocation), as a controversy had erupted over the sequence of playing it third-- after Vande Mataram and the national anthem in the swearing-in ceremony of his government, as well as the expansion of his cabinet. He also took up the Mekedatu dam issue involving neighbouring Karnataka, with Modi. According to a government press release, Vijay expressed serious concern over Karnataka's announcement of a ground-breaking ceremony for the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project across the Cauvery River, saying the move was completely against the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) and the verdict of the Supreme Court. In his meeting with Sitharaman, Vijay urged for the establishment of Institutes of National Importance (INI) in the state. He sought financial support for implementing metro rail projects needed to improve public transport in key cities that play a major role in Tamil Nadu’s economy and industrial growth, including Erode, Coimbatore and Madurai. Speaking to reporters in Villupuram, CPI state secretary M Veerapandian said Tamil Nadu's demands were justifiable. The Metro Rail project, the Mekedatu dam issue, and Tamil Thai Vaazhthu are tied to the emotions of the people. Hence, the Prime Minister should respect them. "On behalf of the CPI, we urge the Prime Minister to fulfil the Chief Minister's demands," he said.