Amit Shah's Birthday Call To DMK MP Kanimozhi During NEET Row Sparks Controversy

It is learned that Tamil Nadu CM Stalin did not take the call kindly last month.

DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi | Credit: Twitter/@KanimozhiDMK

Chennai: Amid the tussle over federalism and tension between Centre and states' relation, a call by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah to a state leader on her birthday has set a storm in political circles. A month ago, Union Home Minister Amit Shah called DMK MP Kanimozhi to wish her on her 54th birthday just as Tamil Nadu MPs were waiting for an appointment to discuss National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET).

According to a report on The Indian Express, Amit Shah called DMK MP on January 5 to wish on her birthday. However, the call reportedly did not send a good message and Tamil Nadu CM Stalin has not taken it kindly, said the report. 

The call has also created a stir since the leaders are already of the view that the Centre is working against the federal structure. Moreover, during the same time, DMK MPs were waiting to get an appointment from Shah to discuss the Bill seeking NEET exemption.

Hence a day after the call, TN CM Stalin said in the Assembly that refusing to meet the representatives of the public is anti-democratic.

Yet, the delegation of DMK MPs led by DMK MP TR Baalu, who sought a time to meet the Union Home Minister in early January, got time to discuss the issue only on January 17.

The call has also become an important issue while there is a development when Stalin is trying to aim at a bigger role in the national-level Opposition sphere. 

On Sunday, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee called MK Stalin and said that anti-BJP Opposition leaders' meet would be held in Delhi to discuss the curtailment of autonomy of states.