Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday intensified his criticism of the Union government after Tamil Nadu’s Metro Rail proposals for Madurai and Coimbatore were not approved. The Chief Minister posted a detailed social media post on X, along with an illustration with the caption “Same Policy: Two Rule Books”. He argued that Metro approvals are being granted to smaller cities in BJP-ruled states, whereas opposition-governed states like Tamil Nadu face rejections. The image contrasted a green “approved’’ signal for BJP-ruled states against a red “rejected” signal for states governed by opposition parties.
'கோயில் நகர்' மதுரைக்கும், 'தென்னிந்திய மான்செஸ்டர்' கோவைக்கும் "NO METRO" என நிராகரித்துள்ளது ஒன்றிய பா.ஜ.க. அரசு!
அனைவருக்கும் பொதுவானதாகச் செயல்படுவதுதான் அரசுக்கான இலக்கணம். அதற்கு மாறாக, பா.ஜ.க.வைத் தமிழ்நாட்டு மக்கள் நிராகரிப்பதற்காக இப்படி பழிவாங்குவது கீழ்மையான போக்கு.… pic.twitter.com/PEoQKCBMRY
— M.K.Stalin – தமிழ்நாட்டை தலைகுனிய விடமாட்டேன் (@mkstalin) November 19, 2025
Stalin alleges revenge politics
In his post, Stalin stated that the Union BJP government had rejected Metro Rail for the “Temple City” of Madurai and the “Manchester of South India”, Coimbatore, on what he termed as “flimsy grounds.” He argued that a government must function impartially and holding back major infrastructure projects because of the state’s political choice would amount to revenge politics. He also recalled earlier attempts to delay the Chennai Metro. He further added that the state had successfully pushed that project forward. It would adopt the same determination to secure Metro systems for Madurai and Coimbatore.
State-Centre disagreement
As per a report by the Indian Express, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry returned the Detailed Projects Report (DPRs) for both cities earlier this month, citing provisions of the Metro Rail Policy 2017. The policy requires an urban population of 20 lakh or more, as per the 2011 Census.
Coimbatore had 15.84 lakh people in 2011, and the Madurai population was below 15 lakh, placing both cities below the required numbers. The Centre also raised questions on the ridership projections in the DPRs. Objections were also raised on Coimbatore’s estimate of 5.9 lakh daily passengers, which was higher than the projected ridership of Chennai Metro in 2025.
Stalin also blamed the Centre for applying this policy inconsistently, highlighting that cities like Agra, Bhopal and Patna, all in BJP-ruled states, got the approval despite similar population levels. As per a PTI report, Tamil Nadu had submitted DPRs, a Comprehensive Mobility Plan and an Alternative Analysis Report between February and December 2024. The state plans to revise and resubmit these once the pending Census process gets started.
Stalin concluded his post by asserting that Tamil Nadu “will fight and will win” and said that both cities deserve modern mass transit systems that are crucial for their future growth.
