Modi in Tamil Nadu | Significance of Prime Minister’s gesture at Sunday’s event

Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding up the hands of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam at an official event on Sunday has prompted a discussion over the political message.

A. Gopanna, TNCC vice-president, wonders why Mr. Panneerselvam was left out of the meeting that Mr. Palaniswami held with Mr. Modi. But Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar brushed aside the criticism and said the Chief Minister represented the entire State.

“One has to keep in mind other engagements of the Prime Minister and the time factor. But what was more important was Mr. Modi’s gesture, which signified happiness of the people, the party [AIADMK] and the State government,” he said.

BJP spokesperson T. Narayanan said what the Prime Minister sought to convey was that “the BJP and the AIADMK would remain one…”