Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai on Monday after he complained of a digestion issue. He will undergo an endoscopy on Monday night. CM Stalin is likely to be discharged on Tuesday morning, sources said.
Earlier in the day, CM Stalin spoke to NCP chief Sharad Pawar and expressed his solidarity in the wake of the rebellion by Pawar's nephew Ajit. He assured Sharad Pawar that the DMK would support him.
Ajit Pawar sprung a surprise on the Maha Vikas Aghadi on Sunday when he reached Raj Bhavan to take oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that he was unaware of his nephew's plan and asserted that MLAs may leave NCP, but the party command remained with him. Ajit Pawar, however, claimed that he now commanded the "real NCP" as he had the support of 40 out of the 53 party MLAs and six of the nine MLCs.
Following the rebellion, NCP president Sharad Pawar on Monday removed MPs Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel from the party for indulging in "anti-party activities". The other NCP leaders who took oath with Ajit Pawar were Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Baburao Bansode, Anil Bhaidas Patil, and Dharmarao Atram.
Tamil Nadu CM has now extended his support to his colleague in the united Opposition platform. CM Stalin was one of the first Opposition party leaders who had reached out to Pawar and requested him to take back his decision when the NCP chief announced his wish to step down in May.
On Sunday, CM Stalin attended a virtual conference organised by the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA) and Sacramento Tamil Mandram. He told the participants of the conference that his government was implementing a plan to promote the glory of Tamil history, culture and civilisation across the world. “The government has planned to popularise the
significance of Tamil culture and establish its antiquity globally,” he was quoted as saying by The Times of India.