Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin and Union minister of housing and urban affairs Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday traded barbs over the alleged denial of Metro services to Coimbatore and Madurai.

While Stalin accused the BJP of being biased against Opposition-ruled states, Khattar alleged that Stalin was politicising issues.

The Union housing and urban affairs ministry recently returned Tamil Nadu’s detailed project reports for the two Tier-II cities, citing the Metro Rail Policy, 2017, which restricts central support to urban agglomerations with a population of at least 20 lakh as per the 2011 census, according to reports.

In his X post, Stalin on Wednesday night said: “The Union BJP government has denied Metro Rail for ‘Temple City’ Madurai and for ‘South India’s Manchester’, Coimbatore, on flimsy grounds.”

Asserting that a government exists to serve people without bias, Stalin further said that the BJP treats Tamil Nadu’s democratic choice as a reason to take revenge. “Pushing such a political custom, in which BJP-ruled states get Metros for smaller Tier-II cities while Opposition-ruled states are deprived, is a disgraceful approach,” Stalin said.

According to Stalin, the Centre had also attempted to stall the Chennai Metro, but the Tamil Nadu government overcame those “malicious attempts” and secured the progress of the project. “With the same determination, we will secure the Metro Rail that Madurai and Coimbatore need for their future growth,” Stalin said. “Tamil Nadu will fight! Tamil Nadu will win!”

Reacting to the allegations, Khattar said it was “unfortunate” that Stalin had chosen to politicise and create controversy over the application of the Metro Policy, 2017, which is a procedure designed to ensure that costly infrastructure projects generate maximum benefit for the public.

“Stalin has ignored the magnanimous sanction of the central government on October 3, 2024, to the Chennai Metro Phase-2 project at a cost of ₹63,246cr for a route length of 119km. This is the biggest ever sanctioned metro project,” Khattar posted on X.

The Union minister also flagged various discrepancies in the Coimbatore and Madurai proposals. He accused the Tamil Nadu government of not participating in the Centre’s e-sewa bus scheme.