Vijay returns to Chennai from Delhi, meetings with the Gandhis deferred
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay returned to Chennai on Thursday after concluding his maiden official visit to New Delhi since assuming office earlier this month.
While the two-day visit was marked by high-level meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Vijay did not meet Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, triggering speculation in political circles.
Congress sources, however, clarified that the proposed meeting with Rahul Gandhi had only been deferred and not cancelled.
According to his TVK insiders, Vijay’s Delhi visit was primarily official in nature and focused on administrative and developmental issues concerning Tamil Nadu rather than political consultations.
Sources said Vijay had expressed his willingness to meet Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday night, and efforts were made again on Thursday morning to arrange an interaction. However, the Chief Minister’s tightly packed schedule and his planned return to Chennai reportedly prevented the meeting from taking place.
A senior Congress leader indicated that Vijay is expected to return to Delhi around June 11 for the NITI Aayog meeting and may then meet Rahul Gandhi and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Vijay travelled back to Chennai on Thursday by a special flight after wrapping up his engagements in the national capital.
During the visit, the Chief Minister met Prime Minister Modi and discussed several key issues affecting Tamil Nadu. Among the matters raised were the contentious Mekedatu dam project proposed by Karnataka, the arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, and the controversy surrounding the sequence in which the ‘Tamil Thai Vazhthu’ was played during the swearing-in ceremony of the new government.
According to a government release, Vijay conveyed serious concern over Karnataka’s decision to move ahead with a ground-breaking ceremony for the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project across the Cauvery River. He reportedly told the Prime Minister that the project violated the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and went against the Supreme Court’s directions on water sharing.
The Chief Minister met Union Finance Minister Sitharaman and submitted a detailed memorandum seeking priority funding for infrastructure projects in Tamil Nadu, including ports, national highways, railway expansions and industrial corridors considered vital for the state’s economic growth.