In his maiden meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi after assuming office, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday urged him to operationalise the vaccine units in Chengalpattu and Coonoor besides seeking scrapping of the Citizenship Amendment Act, the three farm laws and the proposed Chennai-Salem Greenfield Expressway.
Mr. Stalin handed over to Mr. Modi a memorandum containing 25 major demands including exempting Tamil Nadu from NEET-based medical admissions and scrapping entrance exams for admissions into other professional courses.
Demands made in T.N. memorandum
• Release pending 14th Finance Commission grants; GST dues
• Commence vaccine production in HLL Biotech unit in Chengalpattu and Pasteur Institute, Coonoor
• Revoke National Education Policy; release grants under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
• Expedite work on AIIMS in Madurai
• Special Relief Package for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
• Approve Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase II under 50:50 joint venture partnership
• Declare Tamil as Official Language, use Tamil in High Court; declare Thirukkural as the National literature
• Execute Maduravoyal – Chennai Port elevated Road project, Chennai-Airport to Chengalpattu elevated road project, sea bridge project connecting Chennai Port – Thiruvottriyur, 6/8 lane highway project between Chennai and Kanniyakumari
• Expand Thoothukudi port
• Establish a Regional Bench of the Supreme Court in Chennai
• New International Airport with world-class standards at Chennai, declare Madurai’s as international airport, expand airports in Salem and Thoothukudi
• Drop Hydrocarbon schemes and Neutrino project, repeal Draft EIA notification, 2020
• Continue the Intellectual Property Rights Appellate Board in Chennai
• Protect traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen in the Palk Bay; retrieve Katchatheevu. Establish National Commission for the Welfare of Fishermen
• Remove bottlenecks in the supply of coal; revoke the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2020
• Release of Custom Milled Rice (CMR) Subsidy
• Ensure Tamils in Sri Lanka have equal civil and political rights
• Pass Bill to provide 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Legislatures
• Amend MGNREGA to provide 150 days of employment
• Launch Urban Wage Employment Scheme
• New Railways Projects for Tamil Nadu