Chennai: With the Mekedatu dam dispute intensifying, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay returned to Chennai from a two-day Delhi visit without meeting Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi.
During his first Delhi trip after taking office, Vijay met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and later held talks with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, urging greater financial allocation for Tamil Nadu’s development. He stayed at Tamil Nadu House, where Tamil Nadu IAS officers posted in Delhi paid a courtesy call the next morning.
Though it was widely expected that Vijay would also meet senior Congress leaders, he left for Chennai around 10 am on a special flight without any such meetings. Congress circles suggested the Mekedatu issue was a key factor, as meeting the party leadership could have triggered pressure on Vijay to raise the same demand with them, potentially creating avoidable political strain ahead of upcoming by-elections in the state.
However, Congress data analytics head Praveen Chakravarty said Rahul Gandhi did not have time after 6 pm on the previous day, and that the meeting therefore did not take place. He added that Vijay is likely to meet Rahul during his next Delhi visit.
A NITI Aayog meeting is scheduled in Delhi on June 11, with invitations sent to all chief ministers. Vijay is said to be keen on attending and may travel to Delhi again. Separately, TMC (Moopanar) leader G K Vasan criticised Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar over the Mekedatu dam remarks and urged Vijay to press the Karnataka Congress government not to proceed with the project.
