Tamil Nadu vs Centre over Madurai-Thoothukudi railway line; Modi minister says Stalin didn’t want it, DMK says ‘lies’

The Tamil Nadu government and the Centre are sparring with each other over the now-scrapped Madurai-Thoothukudi railway line. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government has rejected the claims by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw that the Madurai-Thoothukudi railway line project was shelved as the MK Stalin government did not want to go ahead with it. Countering the claims, the state government said it was consistently urging the implementation of the rail project.

In a statement, Transport Minister SS Sivasankar said, “The Tamil Nadu government had neither in writing nor verbally, sought for the project to be withdrawn. On the contrary, it has been consistently urging the implementation of the project.” The state minister also said that three letters seeking funds were sent to the Centre in August-September 2024 but there was no response from it.

The DMK youth wing also accused Ashwini Vaishnaw of ‘blatantly lying’ about the Madurai-Thoothukudi railway line. It said, “Why is he saying it when the CM write a letter asking for a project and when in fact it is the Railways that has rejected the request stating frivolous reasons.” It also shared a letter that purportedly showed that the state government had asked for funds for the railway line.

The IT wing of DMK said, “Honourable Railway Minister is either lying or is being lied to…We need funds, not lies.” Also Read | Tamil Nadu BJP’s Annamalai mounts bid to oust Stalin-led DMK govt: ‘Will forego shoes, whip myself, fast for 48 days’

What did Ashwini Vaishnaw say?

Speaking with reporters during his Chennai visit, Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Madurai-Thoothukudi railway line project had been shelved as the Tamil Nadu government had asked it to be dropped, saying they did not want it. He further urged the state government to put people welfare above politics.

“We need the state government’s support in land acquisition. We must make sure that people’s facilities are above politics and we must look at the welfare of the people first,” Ashwini Vaishnaw said.