PM Modi meets Jayalalithaa to get support for key bills

CHENNAI: On a day when PM Narendra Modi launched the first National Handloom Day at Madras University, a stronger political bond was being weaved aside.

In a significant exchange of cordiality between the PM and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the two leaders met twice within a span of hours, the second meeting being over an elaborate lunch lasting 50 minutes.

Jayalalithaa, who had been skipping public events for some time, including the funeral of former president APJ Abdul Kalam in Rameswaram last week, made it a point to greet Modi at the Chennai Airport on Friday morning.

She returned home from the airport and did not attend the Handloom Day meet at the Madras University, where a note sent by her was read out by Tamil Nadu Finance Minister O Paneerselvam. Modi later drove straight to Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence. While Jayalalithaa hosted a lunch for the PM, she also handed over a 21-page memorandum about issues on which the state needed the Centre’s support.

With AIADMK being the third largest party in the parliament, Modi’s visit assumes significance as crucial bills including the land bill remain in a limbo.