TN CM Vijay to attend Sonia Gandhi’s book launch event in Delhi

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay will travel to New Delhi on Monday to attend the official launch of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s autobiography, amid speculation that he may also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the contentious Mekedatu dam project.

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Manickam Tagore confirmed CM Vijay’s participation in the November 16 event, scheduled at a hotel in the national capital. Members of Sonia Gandhi’s family and other invitees are expected to attend the programme. The autobiography reached bookstores on November 10, ahead of its official launch.

CM Vijay’s visit will provide an occasion for an interaction with Sonia Gandhi, whom he had met during an earlier trip to Delhi after becoming Chief Minister. Attention, however, is focused on whether CM Vijay will secure a meeting with PM Modi to reiterate Tamil Nadu’s opposition to Karnataka’s proposed dam across the Cauvery at Mekedatu. There has been no official confirmation of such a meeting.

The CM’s Delhi visit comes against the backdrop of renewed controversy over Karnataka’s efforts to obtain the Centre’s final approval for the project. Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar participated alongside PM Modi in the inauguration of development projects in Karnataka on Friday.

Remarks made during the programme, citing a Supreme Court ruling in support of proceeding with the project and seeking central clearance, have intensified the dispute. Tamil Nadu has maintained that the concerns of downstream states must be addressed before any approval is granted.

In a letter to PM Modi on November 7, CM Vijay urged the Union government not to permit the project without hearing the views of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala. A meeting during the forthcoming visit would allow him to press that position directly with the Prime Minister.

Monday’s journey will be CM Vijay’s third visit to Delhi since assuming office. He first met PM Modi on May 27. During his second visit, from June 10 to 12, he attended a NITI Aayog meeting and met President Droupadi Murmu, PM Modi and Sonia Gandhi.

The trip has also acquired political significance following reports that Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Friday to discuss the state’s law and order situation.

Against this backdrop, CM Vijay’s engagements in the national capital will be watched, particularly for any discussion on the dam dispute and the state government’s concerns over Cauvery water.