On a day when the expectations in the political circles in Tamil Nadu were high, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Tamil Nadu was nothing beyond business. For the ruling AIADMK, who expected him to hail the present dispensation, the prime minister's was a straight talk, entirely on what the central government has done for the state since 2014.
Modi’s visit to Tamil Nadu and both the chief minister and the deputy chief minister being part of the Amma Scooter scheme launch event in Chennai, had raised doubts on the politics behind the visit.
Apparently, Modi visits Chennai after a gap of three months. He was in the city in November 2017 to attend a Daily Thanthi newspaper event. Though he had called on ailing DMK leader M. Karunanidhi, the prime minister had flown back to Delhi the same day with out meeting the ruling party leaders.
Months later, this is the first time the prime minister has chosen to stay back in Chennai at the Raj Bhavan. While speculations were rife that a meeting with the ruling party leaders is possible, sources in Raj Bhavan and the AIADMK made it clear that there was no appointment for anyone.
“There is not even a courtesy meet. Do you think the prime minister should call us here to know what is happening in Tamil Nadu?” asked a senior AIADMK leader who had once expressed displeasure after the merger.
The differences between the EPS and OPS factions after their merger have touched a new high after Panneerselvam opened up on the merger at a party office-bearers meeting at Theni on February 16. With a tone of regret and discomfort, the deputy chief minister had said that it was on the behest of Prime Minister Modi that he had merged his faction with that of Palanisamy.
“He (Modi) said that you could join to save the party.” the deputy chief minister had said, without specifying exactly when the conversation took place.
Apparently, a courtesy call on the prime minister by both EPS and OPS on Saturday was highly expected in the political circles.
Panneerselvam, in his speech, hailed both Modi and his late leader Jayalalithaa. Palaniswami, while praising Modi, urged him to set up the Cauvery management board. The chief minister is all set to lead a delegation of farmers and all party leaders to Delhi to urge Modi to constitute the Cauvery Management Board within six weeks, as directed by the Supreme Court. The delegation is expected to visit New Delhi next week.
But Modi chose to stay away from all these politics. He neither touched upon the political instability in the state nor spoke on the various schemes rolled out by the Tamil Nadu government. Rather he chose to list out the various central government schemes to Tamil Nadu. He highlighted the programmes rolled out by his government in the last four years for the welfare of women, including the maternity leave scheme which was extended from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. He also touched upon the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana scheme which benefited 31 crore people in the country.
Talking about the Centre’s interest in the state, Modi said that projects worth Rs 24,000 crore had been implemented in the state. “All have begun after the NDA came to power – solar power panels, rural pipelines and national highways. More than Rs 3,700 crore was sanctioned for Chennai Metro Rail,” he said.
Modi’s speech was a disappointment to the AIADMK camp. But hours after the meeting, to everyone’s surprise, one of the key persons of the cabinet, Minister of Electricity P. Thangamani, reportedly called on the prime minister at Raj Bhavan. Thangamani, is seen close to the EPS camp. While sources said that it was just a courtesy meet, Thangamani’s meeting has opened the Pandora’s Box in the already confused AIADMK camp.