CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson A.N.S. Prasad on Thursday sharply criticised Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for claiming that the Union Government had denied Metro rail projects to Coimbatore and Madurai out of “vindictive revenge”. Prasad said the Chief Minister was spreading “baseless and venomous lies” instead of acknowledging the state’s own procedural lapses.
Calling Stalin’s remarks “unfortunate and unbecoming”, Prasad stressed that the Centre had not discriminated against Tamil Nadu. He said the Union Government was simply following the Metro Rail Policy, 2017, which sets uniform criteria for all states across the country. According to the policy, Metro projects can be considered only for cities with a population of over 20 lakh, based on Census data referenced in the Detailed Project Report (DPR).
Prasad accused the state government of deliberately misleading the public and shifting blame to the Centre to hide its own administrative shortcomings. He reiterated that no exceptions have been made for any state under the policy and urged the Tamil Nadu government to correct its submissions instead of deflecting responsibility.