New Delhi: Two weeks after the M.K. Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government urged President Droupadi Murmu to set a time-frame for governors to clear bills, the chief minister Friday flew to Delhi to personally invite her for the inauguration of one of his flagship projects — a multi-superspecialty hospital in Chennai.
The Chief Minister’s Office and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) officially maintained that the discussions between Stalin and Murmu were limited to the invitation. Meanwhile, multiple DMK leaders and party spokespersons told ThePrint they were unofficially told not to go beyond the brief.
Stalin has also invited Murmu to participate in the centenary celebration of his late father, former Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi, to be held at the YMCA Ground on 5 June, Tamil Nadu government said in a statement, adding that the President has accepted both invites.
Stalin had announced the construction of a multi-superspecialty hospital on the premises of the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research at Guindy on the occasion of the 97th birth anniversary of Karunanidhi on 3 June, 2021. The hospital, with its 1,000 beds, has been built over an area of 51,429 sq. ft at the cost of Rs 230 crore.
Stalin’s visit to Delhi comes at a time when the Tamil Nadu assembly has passed a formal resolution urging the Union government and President Murmu to fix a time limit for governors to give assent to bills passed by legislatures.
After he wrote to other opposition parties urging them to adopt similar resolutions in their own states, three chief ministers — Delhi’s Arvind Kerjwial, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan and West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee — have written back supporting the stance.
The state had also passed another resolution urging the Union government to amend the Constitution to ensure reservation for Dalit Christians.
Meanwhile, Stalin also had a chance meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Delhi airport, while the former was waiting to fly back to Chennai. Sitharaman’s official handle tweeted about the meeting.
Smt @nsitharaman met Shri @mkstalin, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on her way to Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/aPV7D9hoSk
— NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) April 28, 2023
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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