Are MK Stalin and Mamata Banerjee going soft on PM Modi?

New Delhi: Recent meetings between the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have led to a strong buzz about a change in the chemistry between them.

Stalin and Mamata are said to be reworking their equations with Modi so that dealings between their state governments and the Centre remain without unnecessary strain.

Mamata met up with Modi on August 5, seeking his intervention in getting West Bengal’s share from the Centre for several schemes, including MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojana, saying the non-release of funds has put the rural population in “great distress.”

The two leaders were together for about 45 minutes at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence of the PM, during which Mamata is said to have argued that the Centre owes her state nearly Rs 1,00,968.44 crore.

She handed over a memorandum to the PM listing many Central schemes, including Samagra Shiksha Mission, Mid-Day Meal, Swachh Bharat Mission (rural), and food subsidy under the National Food Security Act, among others, for which the Centre purportedly owes funds to the state.

In response, Modi is said to have pointed out the implementation of the Centrally sponsored schemes, even if the nomenclature had changed to "Banga Awas Yojana" etc, was so wanting that New Delhi could not go on releasing funds without compliance to rules and performance audit. He wanted Mamata to not let politics come in the way of the poor people getting relief faster under the schemes.

What did Mamata do after meeting Modi?

Upon her return from Delhi, Mamata issued an order to all district magistrates to strictly implement the Centrally sponsored schemes in a time-bound manner and any delays would not be taken lightly. Her action on August 21 took the Trinamool Congress leaders by surprise because the Bengal CM had seldom bothered about the Central directives in this regard.

Mamata, however, maintained that her meeting with Modi was “purely administrative.”  

But political speculations around it were in the light of the proceedings of the Enforcement Directorate against former West Bengal cabinet minister Partha Chatterjee in a teacher recruitment scam. Once a very close confidant of Mamata, Partha Chatterjee was arrested after cash not less than Rs 22 crore was found at the house of his aide, Arpita Mukherjee.

There is a change in Mamata's approach towards Modi, say her party insiders. She no longer targets the PM personally though she continues to be critical of the BJP.

This is a far cry from January 2021 when she and Modi shared the stage at Netaji's birth anniversary event in Kolkata.  She refused to speak after "Jai Shri Ram" slogans were raised. In March 2021, she met Modi in Delhi to oppose the extension of the BSF’s jurisdiction in border states, asking him “not to disturb the federal structure.”

In May 2021, several Union ministers flayed her “for making Modi wait 30 minutes” for a meeting called to assess the impact of "Cyclone Yass" in West Bengal. She and the Chief Secretary also did not receive Modi when he arrived in the state.

In December 2021, she accused the Centre of not allowing her to speak during a virtual meeting that the PM had with chief ministers. She then boycotted a meeting with the Centre. In April 2022, her government accused Modi's office of refusing an appointment for her, citing his "tight schedule."  

Soon after her return from Delhi, Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation( CBI) and later arrested for his alleged links with middleman Abdul Latif in connection with the cattle smuggling case. The CBI asked the jailed leader how he would procure cattle from the market in Bengal’s Illambazar. Mondal's arrest upset Mamata but she chose to be silent.

How did Stalin's meeting with the PM go?

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin called on Modi on August 17. It took place amid the buzz in the DMK circles that the chemistry between the leaders had improved since the May 26 public function in Chennai. At that time, Stalin criticised the Modi government, utilising the opportunity of the PM's presence. The PM had come to Chennai to specifically launch some Centrally funded projects, being his first visit to Tamil Nadu since the DMK swept the polls in April-May last year.

The BJP criticised Stalin and the DMK government for politicising the PM's visit. The DMK too hit back at the PM.

But, by July, tempers seemed to have cooled down. Stalin was counselled by some DMK leaders not to humiliate Modi and instead rework his relationship to ensure that the Centre-TN ties were in working order.

So when Stalin was hit by Covid and could not go to Delhi to personally invite Modi to inaugurate the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad, the PM told him not to worry about protocol and take care of his health.

Modi kept his word to be in Chennai for the event on July 28. At the inaugural function, Stalin praised Modi for all the help rendered by the Centre. The PM had a good word for the Tamil Nadu government for playing an excellent host. Modi is said to have spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the event to be shifted to Chennai. It was to take place in Russia but the Ukraine war had made it uncertain.

So during the August 17 meeting, Stalin thanked the PM for the chess event and also sought his help for going abroad sometime in September-October for a health checkup. Modi assured him of all help and told him not to worry as the Centre would take care of Tamil Nadu's legitimate interests during his travel abroad.

On August 13, some ex DMK persons (said to be now BJP workers) threw a slipper at the vehicle of Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR) outside the Madurai airport when he was returning after paying his last respects to the slain soldier D Lakshmanan. 

However, that act did not trigger any protests from the DMK cadre, nor did the party leaders call for agitations. Neither was action taken against the officials for security lapses.  Stain's No 2 and DMK general secretary Durai Murugan merely condemned the 'disgusting' and 'uncouth' act.  Stalin guaranteed that "action will be taken against those who try to use anti-social elements to create unrest in Tamil Nadu."

As the unrest grew among some DMK allies about Staklin's new equations with Modi, Stalin took pain -- before he left for Delhi for the August 17 meeting with the PM --  to declare that the DMK would not make “even the slightest of compromise” ideologically with the BJP.

Stalin made these comments at the 60th birthday celebration of DMK’s ally Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi’s (VCK) chief Thol Thirumavalavan in Chennai.

A  strong critic of the BJP, Thirumavalavan said if the DMK made even the slightest compromise with the BJP, it would dilute the anti-BJP stance of the Secular Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu. This alliance led by the DMK with the Congress, VCK, and the Left parties won all but one Lok Sabha seat from the state.

But, then, a lot of water continues to flow down the Cauvery.