After boycotting the General Council meetings of NITI Aayog for the past three years, citing the Modi government’s alleged discrimination against Tamil Nadu in financial allocations, Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin arrived in the national capital on Friday to attend the upcoming meeting on Saturday and assert the state’s legitimate rights.

Seizing the opportunity, Stalin met senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi at their residence in the evening. As the DMK remains a key pillar of the INDIA bloc, Stalin’s meeting with the Congress leadership reaffirms the Dravidian party’s alliance with Congress.

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The Chief Minister is also rallying support from non-Congress ruled states and parties opposed to the BJP, particularly over the issues of delimitation and Governors allegedly acting as impediments to elected state governments.

According to sources, Stalin enquired about Sonia Gandhi’s health, and she, in turn, asked about the health of Stalin’s mother, Dayalu Ammal. While the upcoming assembly elections were touched upon, they were reportedly not discussed in detail.

DMK sources also confirmed that Stalin is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, having sought an appointment, to present a memorandum listing various demands for Tamil Nadu. This comes in the backdrop of the state moving the Supreme Court to direct the Union Government to release pending dues of ₹2,192 crore under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

The funds have been withheld due to Tamil Nadu’s non-implementation of Hindi instruction under the three-language formula of the New Education Policy (NEP). Tamil Nadu has opposed this, continuing its longstanding two-language policy of Tamil and English, in place since 1968.

Stalin’s decision to participate in the NITI Aayog meeting has drawn criticism from the principal opposition, AIADMK. Party general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami alleged that family interests forced the U-turn, especially as the Enforcement Directorate intensifies its probe into the alleged ₹1,000 crore liquor scam involving TASMAC, the state-run liquor retailer.

The ED recently conducted raids on TASMAC headquarters, private distilleries, and bottling units, and had summoned TASMAC MD S Visakan earlier this week. However, the Supreme Court has stayed further ED investigation, criticizing the agency for violating federal principles.