With Covid Vaccines, AIIMS in Madurai and Tamil on Agenda, TN CM Stalin Meets PM Modi

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Thursday and submitted a long list of demands for the state. The DMK leader, who recently led his party to a big win in the assembly polls, is on a visit to the national capital.

“Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru @mkstalin met PM @narendramodi,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted and posted pictures of their meeting.

In his memorandum to PM Modi, Stalin is said to detailed several requests for a slew of policy, incentives and resolution support to the state on various issues

Key demands:

• Support to Tamil Nadu on an additional supply of Covid-19 vaccines
• Assistance on kick-starting vaccine production in HLL Biotech factory near Chennai
• Fast-tracking work on setting up of an AIIMS in Madurai
• Scrapping medical entrance test NEET
• Announcement for Tirukkural as the National Book
• Withdrawing the implementation of the New Education Policy. The DMK has vehemently opposed the NEP, especially the three-language policy it advocates.
• Making Tamil the official language at Madras High Court

This is Stalin’s first visit to the national capital after taking oath as Tamil Nadu chief minister last month.

On Monday, he urged Modi to cancel the Centre’s invitation for a bid to extract hydrocarbon in Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery basin and strongly opposed such initiatives in the state. The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has invited bids for the development of oil and gas fields at Vadatheru in Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu, he said in a letter to Modi.

Stalin also requested Modi to instruct the Ministry to consult the state Government before bringing any area in Tamil Nadu for any auctions in future for hydrocarbon exploration and extraction. In Tamil Nadu, almost all parties including the ruling DMK and main opposition AIADMK and farmers organisations are opposed to such projects and hydrocarbon exploration has also been a politically sensitive issue.

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