The DMK party has refuted the claim made by Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw that they were unwilling to proceed with rail projects linking Madurai and Thoothukudi. During his visit to Chennai, Vaishnaw stated that the project was scrapped after the Stalin-led DMK submitted a written statement expressing their reluctance to pursue it.

Vaishnaw said the state government’s support was required for land acquisition, adding that public welfare must be kept above politics. 

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"We need the state government's support in land acquisition. We must make sure that people's facilities are above politics and we must look at the welfare of the people first," he said inspecting Amrit Bharat and Vande Bharat sleeper coaches at ICF Chennai.

DMK Youth Wing shared a letter written by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin accusing the minister of lying, adding that the latter had sought funds for the project. "Why is he saying it when the CM write a letter asking for a project and when in fact it is the Railways that has rejected the request stating frivolous reasons," the post read.

Tamil Nadu Transport Minister SS Sivasankar said the state government never asked the Centre to scrap the projects and Railway Ministers’ remark was ‘discriminatory’.  

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Notably, Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi, who also serves as the deputy general secretary of the DMK, had repeatedly advocated for the implementation of the project in Parliament in the past.