Stalin meets PM Modi; seeks funds for Chennai Metro, intervention to protect fishermen

Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin, after having a ‘cordial meeting’ with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he asked for the Union Government’s share on Chennai Metro Rail phase Two, urged the release of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) funds and called for urgent intervention into the repeated arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, looked forward to a swift and positive action on those key issues.

Speaking to reporters at the Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi on Friday, Stalin said that it was in the hands of the Prime Minister to turn Friday's happy meeting that primarily centered around the three key demands of the State into a useful one and that the State's other demands would be raised and pressed for regularly.

A memorandum was handed over to Modi highlighting the key demands, which he hoped would be acceded to in the interest of the State, he said, adding that he had personally asked him to find a permanent solution to secure the traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen in the Palk Straits and to expedite the release of 145 fishermen and 191 boats now in custody.

The unabated recurring arrests had impacted the livelihoods of a large number of fisher families and he had written 13 letters to the Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the last three months alone, he had told the Prime Minister.

Since the Joint Working Group (JWG) on fisheries between India and Sri Lanka was scheduled to be held on October 29 at Colombo, Stalin demanded for urgently arranging fishermen level talks between the two countries that had not happened since 2016. He said that he had requested the Prime Minister to personally intervene to find a lasting solution to the vexatious issue.

Explaining the State’s position on the Metro Rail project, he said the Chennai Metro Rail was a joint venture company with Tamil Government and Union Government holding 50 per cent equity each with the secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA) as chairperson..

Then, the foundation stone for phase two was laid by the Union Home Minister on November 21, 2020, and the Union Finance Minister had made an announcement for counterpart funding for the phase 2 project in the Union Budget for 2021-22, he said.

Apart from that the project proposal was placed before the Public Investment Board (PIB) in its meeting on August 17, 2021 and it was recommended for implementation as a Central Sector Project under equity sharing model, apart from the MOHUA moving the proposal for approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

Based on those developments, CMRL proceeded to implement the project in anticipation of Union Government’s participation that had not yet happened and progress of the project had slowed down due to fiscal constraints, he said.

On the Union Government withholding funds for the SSA, Stalin said the Union Government had not released the first instalment ie 25 percent of its share of R 2151 crore, which should have been released by April 30, 2024, had not been received, he said.

While the Union Government was insisting on the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Tamil Nadu’s concern was on the three language formula put forth in the policy since the State has been historically following the two-language formula to protect the State’s cultural identify and to ensure students proficiency in global languages, he said.

Even though clause 1.13 of NEP stated that no language would be imposed on any State, the MoU on the establishment of Prime Minister’s Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme did not reflect that spirit of the policy, leaving no scope for any flexibility in the language formula, Stalin said.

Otherwise Tamil Nadu had been implementing most of the provisions of NEP including free breakfast scheme that was now benefitting 21,03,585 students of Classes one to five in 37,685 schools, which no other State had implemented so far, he said.

Stalin also called on Congress leader Sonia Gandhi that gave heartfelt joy over the family bonding, he said in his message on X. At the residence of CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, he shared fond memories with the family members , who recalled how the late leader often spoke with great admiration for the DMK, he said.