DMK, BJP face-off over Centre's 'no metro' for Tamil Nadu's Madurai, Coimbatore

The DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) called for protest in Coimbatore and Madurai on November 20 and 21, respectively against the Centre on the 'no metro' issue.

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday said the Centre has rejected its proposed metro rail projects in Madurai and Coimbatore "on flimsy grounds," as the issue snowballed into another DMK vs BJP face-off in the southern state where Assembly elections are due in about six months.

The parties sparred over the matter on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore for a farming summit, where he made an apparent political comment that "Bihar winds" had arrived in the southern state, referring to the NDA's resounding victory in the just concluded Bihar Assembly polls.

While Chief Minister M K Stalin slammed the BJP over the "no Metro" issue and called the move as an "act of revenge", the saffron party said the Centre acted on technical grounds.

The ruling coalition announced a protest on the matter.

Incidentally, BJP ally and main opposition party in Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK, urged PM to expedite the implementation of the Metro rail projects.

Stalin said the Centre had told the state "No metro" for the "Temple City" of Madurai and "South India's Manchester", Coimbatore, despite similar projects being cleared in other smaller cities in BJP-ruled states.

"The Union BJP government has denied Metro Rail for Temple City Madurai and for South India's Manchester, Coimbatore, on flimsy grounds. A government exists to serve people without bias. Yet the Union #BJP treats #Tamil Nadu's democratic choice as a reason to take revenge," wrote CM Stalin in a social media post.

The chief minister asserted that his government, along with the people of Madurai and Coimbatore, would "defeat" what he alleged was the BJP's vindictive design and ensure that Metro rail becomes a reality in the two urban centres.

Recently, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry reportedly returned Tamil Nadu's Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for the two Tier-II cities, citing the Metro Rail Policy, 2017, which restricts central support to urban agglomerations with a population of at least 20 lakh as per the 2011 Census, according to reports.

DMK Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson alleged the BJP's "anti-Tamil Nadu vendetta" continues. "As PM Modi is in Coimbatore today, I hope he can explain to the people of Coimbatore why he does not think of India's fastest growing city is not deserving a metro rail project," he added.

BJP National President of Mahila Morcha (Women's Wing) Vanathi Srinivasan said Tamil Nadu can re-submit the proposals using urban agglomeration (UA) data (Coimbatore UA is 21+ lakh) or give special justification -- just like Agra metro was approved for tourism. Similar precedents exist for Bhopal and Patna.

BJP State Spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy said the union government has not given approval for metro rail projects in cities whose population is below 20 lakh.

Meanwhile AIADMK, which leads the NDA in Tamil Nadu, requested PM Modi to expedite the implementation of the Coimbatore and Madurai Metro Rail projects announced for the development of the state. AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, who received Modi at the Coimbatore airport, submitted a memorandum to the PM pressing for various demands.

The AIADMK also requested the Centre for appropriate measures be taken to expedite the expansion works of Coimbatore Airport.

Meanwhile, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) called for protest in Coimbatore and Madurai on November 20 and 21, respectively against the Centre on the issue.

"The BJP government has been betraying Tamil Nadu in sharing of GST funds and it is repeatedly neglecting the state and its people. Currently, the Government has also refused the Metro Rail projects proposed for Coimbatore and Madurai", the parties said in a statement.

SPA constituents include the Congress and the Left parties.

The Metro proposals are part of the DMK government's broader effort to expand mass transit beyond Chennai and improve connectivity in fast-growing industrial centres across the state, a demand Stalin has repeatedly raised with the Union government, including through earlier representations seeking approval for Coimbatore and Madurai Metro Rail.

Tamil Nadu had submitted DPRs, a Comprehensive Mobility Plan and an Alternative Analysis Report for the two projects between February and December 2024, and in March this year the Centre had informed Parliament that they were under consideration, before the latest rejection.