leaving the bitterness of the lok Sabha poll campaign behind, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, submitted a list of demands for Tamil Nadu, and remained non-committal on supporting the NDA Government in Parliament, specially in the Rajya Sabha where it is in minority.
After the meeting the PM, she said, it was “very useful”. Jayalalithaa’s wish-list for TN includes measures to expedite implementation of Supreme Court order on water sharing issues with Kerala and release of dues of Rs 11,000 crore of revenue share from collection of Income Tax.
Asked if the AIADMK would join NDA, Jayalalittha said, “NDA has got an independent majority. For that matter, the BJP itself has got an independent majority. They don’t need support from outside.”
Asked if the AIADMK will support the NDA in the Rajya Sabha, Jayalalithaa remained evasive. “We will see when that situation arises,” she said. The Chief Minister was talking to media, after her 50-minute long meeting with Modi.
The BJP has a total of 42 members in the Rajya Sabha while the AIADMK has 10 MPs in the 243-member Upper House whose current strength is 231. In the lok Sabha, AIADMK is the third largest party with 37 MPs.
Addressing media outside the PMO, Jayalalithaa stressed on her memorandum of demands submitted to the Prime Minister. “There were reports that we have sought packages from the Centre. It was not correct. We sought the Prime Minister to expedite the release of long pending dues to the State,” she said, and termed the meeting with the PM as “very useful.”
Among her demands, Jayalalithaa also sought constitution of the Cauvery Water Management Board, additional allocation of power from central generating units, Chennai Metro Rail extension and a host of other developmental projects -- including those in agriculture, urban development and industrial development.
She stressed on the implementation of Supreme Court order on raising the water level of Mullaperiyar Dam bordering Kerala. “We sought for the implementation of the Supreme Court order immediately for the release of more water from the Mullai Periar dam,” said Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Jayalalithaa also met President Pranab Mukherjee earlier in the day.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister also called on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and put forth her demands. A statement issued by the Finance Ministry said the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister discussed the financial issues relating to her State with Jaitley as also Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram and Expenditure Secretary P Watal.