MK Stalin Slams Centre Over Metro Rejection for Madurai, Coimbatore, BJP Counters

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday sharply criticised the Union government for rejecting metro rail projects for Madurai and Coimbatore, calling the decision "cheap" and "a vendetta" against the state for rejecting the BJP. He accused the Centre of "destroying federalism" and vowed that Tamil Nadu would secure the metro projects "just the way we overcame obstacles for the Chennai Metro".

Stalin said the Centre had approved metro systems for much smaller tier-II cities in BJP-ruled states while ignoring proposals from an Opposition-led Tamil Nadu. "Self-respecting, rich Tamil Nadu will never accept destruction of federalism," he said.

DMK Coimbatore MP Ganapathy Rajkumar termed the rejection "step-motherly treatment" by the BJP government.

DMK sources also pointed out that while the Centre cited population criteria under the Metro Rail Policy 2017 to deny approval, metros had been sanctioned for several cities with lower populations, ruled by the BJP. Coimbatore's local planning authority population stands at 23.5 lakh (2011 Census), meeting the 20-lakh criterion, while Madurai's municipal and agglomeration populations - 10.2 lakh and 14.7 lakh - are comparable to other approved cities.

They noted that the Centre had cleared metro projects for Agra (1.6 million), Patna (1.7 million) and Bhopal (1.88 million) - all with populations under 20 lakh - and had approved metros for multiple non-capital tier-II cities in other states including Kanpur, Nagpur, Pune, Indore and Surat.

The DMK and its allies have announced protests against the Centre's "discriminatory" move - in Coimbatore on November 20 and in Madurai on November 21.

The BJP, however, rejected charges of political bias. Speaking to NDTV, senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan said, "There is no discrimination on approval for metro rail for Madurai and Coimbatore. Clarifications on population have been sought, and Tamil Nadu has to provide them."   She added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was committed to Tamil Nadu's development, pointing to the higher number of Vande Bharat trains allotted to the state. She insisted the issue "will not be a negative" for the BJP in the 2026 Tamil Nadu polls.BJP Spokesperson Narayanan THIRUPATHY claimed  "This is not outright rejection".

In an embarrassment for the BJP, its ally AIADMK also broke ranks, with party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami urging the Centre to expedite  the metro proposals for both cities.

The confrontation adds to the escalating political friction between the DMK and BJP ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, with infrastructure clearances emerging as a major flashpoint in Centre-state relations.