Amid speculations about a second capital city for Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami made it clear that the government has no such plans. According to reports, the Chief Minister was speaking to the media at Dharmapuri on Thursday when he said whatever was being expressed by his colleagues in the party and others is their own opinion and not the government’s stance.
His answer came in response to a specific question by a reporter who asked what his reply was, to the various discussions on the second capital city in Tamil Nadu.
The speculations started when state Revenue Minister RB Udhayakumar said that his home city Madurai be declared as the second capital city of Tamil Nadu. He was supported by Cooperatives minister Sellur K Raju, who also hails from the Temple city. RB Udhayakumar is an MLA representing Sattur constituency in Virudhunagar district and Sellur K Raju represents the Madurai West Assembly constituency.
Their argument was based on the fact that Madurai has been the centre of political development in the history of the state and that it was the dream of former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MG Ramachandran (MGR) to make the city as the second capital of Tamil Nadu. Following this, the AIADMK party members in Madurai district also passed a resolution urging the Chief Minister and the party leadership to form a committee and analyse the possibilities of making this a reality.
Their remarks were met with resistance from the state minister for Tourism Vellamandi Natarajan, who batted for Trichy, his home city, to be declared the second capital city. Vellamandi Natarajan is the MLA representing Trichy East Assembly constituency. Soon, political leaders across party lines and leaders from other groups like the Cauvery Delta Farmers Association came forward to express their opinions on the matter, batting for Trichy to be declared the second capital city.