Centre’s Weak Communication Hurts BJP In Tamil Nadu: DMK Exploiting Chennai Metro Funding Narrative To Gain Ground

During her recent visit to Tamil Nadu, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the second phase of the Chennai Metro is a state sector project and that there would be no equity participation from the central government.

Sitharaman’s answer was in response to consistent questioning for months over central funding for the project by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

The party had made it a focal point of contention with the Centre in recent times, alongside issues like the release of funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.

The Finance Minister said that the decision to implement the second phase of the metro as a state sector project was taken by the Tamil Nadu government (led by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) in 2018 and that in case there was equity participation by the central government, it would have funded about Rs 7,400 crore.

As for the Centre's role, Sitharaman said that apart from some subordinate funding, it was facilitating loans from international agencies and had arranged funds to the tune of Rs 32,000 crore. She also claimed that the DMK government had not even used Rs 6,000 crore from it. 

While this clarity on the status of the much-awaited project is welcome, it is not clear why there was such a long delay in putting the facts out before the public. Could this information not have been stated by the central government or shared with the state BJP unit earlier?

The metro funding issue had given the DMK a free hand to attack the Centre for months. The party went to town stating that while metro projects in other states, especially those ruled by the BJP, like Uttar Pradesh, were receiving significant funds from the Centre, the Chennai Metro was instead getting the cold shoulder.

The only counter from the BJP in Tamil Nadu was that the Centre was looking into it.

Notably, the Centre even had a good opportunity to issue a clarification in July 2024.

In an answer to an unstarred question regarding the three metro projects in the state — phase two of Chennai metro, Coimbatore metro, and Madurai metro — asked by DMK MPs Kanimozhi and Rani Srikumar, the Union government merely stated the following: 

“Government of Tamil Nadu proposed 118.9 km route length Chennai Metro Phase 2 project at the estimated cost of Rs 63,246 Crore. The approval of such highly cost intensive projects depend upon the feasibility of project and availability of resources.”

The same reply was, however, clear when it came to the reasons for lack of approval for the Coimbatore and Madurai metros — the non-submission of certain mandatory reports.

Fast forward a couple of months, the DMK (still inadequately challenged on the Chennai Metro Phase 2 issue) furthered the 'Centre is against Tamil Nadu' narrative by using the Annapoorna Hotel issue and the apology video that followed.

While the BJP said that the hotel owner, D Srinivasan, wasn’t compelled to apologise to Sitharaman or Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan and that he had done so of his own accord, the posting of the video by a party functionary gave even more ammunition to the opposition. 

And in yet another instance of what can be called a lack of communication or perhaps delayed communication, the Centre was found wanting when it came to combating the fake news of GST (goods and services tax) being imposed on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions below Rs 2,000. 

This inaccurate information had gone viral and had kicked up considerable criticism for the party and Sitharaman.

Clearly, the Centre has to pull up its socks and communicate better, else it will be letting down BJP units in the states. It matters a lot in Tamil Nadu, where the party faces an uphill battle against the Dravidian majors, who have a stranglehold on information and are adept at shaping anti-Centre and anti-BJP narratives.

Also Read: Not ‘How Many’ But ‘How Well’ Are Projects Executed: The Debate Over Fund Allocations To Tamil Nadu Should Be Approached Differently