Prime Minister Narendra Modi is said to be making a strategic move to please DMK so as to check the influence of TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu and JDU chief Nitish Kumar on his government.
Presently, the Modi government depends critically on both the TDP and the JD(U) as the BJP fell short of the majority mark of 272 in the recent Lok Sabha elections, winning 240 seats. The TDP and the JD(U) got 16 and 12 seats respectively.
The Union Cabinet’s move on Thursday to clear the Chennai Metro Rail Phase-II came less than a week after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 27 to seek the Centre’s share for the project.
BJP sources admitted that this move sends a message to “increasingly demanding” TDP and JDU that BJP can play ball with even INDIA bloc players. The Union Cabinet decision to release its share of Rs 7,426 crore in the joint project worth Rs 63,246 crore, has been welcomed by DMK-led Tamil Nadu government and Chief Minister M K Stalin thanked PM Modi for it.
Stalin thanked PM Modi for “accepting our request during my last meeting with you”, even as the CM noted that the Centre has thus addressed “this long-pending demand” of the Tamil Nadu people. In state political circles the DMK chief’s reaction was perceived as “showing unusual warmth” towards Modi.
Infact, for the last couple of years, the Modi government has been delaying funding the Chennai Metro Phase-II, which turned to be a sore point between the BJP and the DMK, with the latter calling it a case of alleged bias against the Opposition-ruled states.
The Centre’s bid to finally give a go-ahead to the major project seems to be a clear shift and it is being viewed as a BJP’s master political stroke to smoother its hardened relations with the DMK, which is a major ally of INDI block.
Only last month union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Chennai that because the Tamil Nadu government had decided to implement the Chennai Metro Rail Phase II as a state project its entire cost should be borne by the state.
So, it is natural for many to believe the Centre’s decision to approve the Chennai Metro project as a “truce” between the two camps. Moreover, BJP state president K. Annamalai, a bitter critic of CM Stalin, has also refrained from targeting the DMK on various issues.
On Friday, Governor R N Ravi also shared the stage with Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin at an event. When asked about this, a senior DMK leader said “Look at the Governor’s statements. He has changed now as compared to days before the recent Lok Sabha polls.”