In his first visit to the national capital after assuming office, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is set to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening.
The president of the DMK, which is part of the United Progressive Alliance, is also likely to call on its chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday morning, a source said. The DMK has 133 MLAs and the Congress 18 in the 234-member Assembly.
During his visit, Mr. Stalin may call on some dignitaries, a few Union Ministers and leaders of alliance parties as well.
When meeting Mr. Modi, the Chief Minister is expected to raise issues relating to vaccine supply and allocation of essential medicines for COVID-19 and mucormycosis patients in Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Stalin is also expected to reiterate the State government’s stand against the conduct of NEET for medical admissions in the State. He is likely to visit the DMK party office in the national capital.
Since his taking over as the Chief Minister on May 7, Mr. Stalin has requested the Prime Minister for oxygen allocation, cryogenic containers and trains to transport them to Tamil Nadu, over the phone and through official letters.
His requests to the Prime Minister have also included a plea to operationalise the Integrated Vaccine Complex by HLL Bio-Tech Ltd. in Chengalpattu, clear GST dues and allow the State to increase its net borrowing limit.
Mr. Stalin has also sought zero GST rate for vaccines and medicines and immediate steps to establish an All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) near Madurai for which the foundation stone was laid by Mr. Modi in January 2019.