The ruling DMK and its alliance partners under the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) on Wednesday staged a massive protest in Coimbatore condemning the BJP-led Central government for refusing to grant approval for the long-awaited Coimbatore Metro Rail project.

The demonstration, led by senior DMK leader and former Minister V. Senthil Balaji, saw a large turnout of DMK cadres and alliance party members. Protesters raised slogans denouncing the Centre for “hampering the development of the Textile City” by withholding permission for the project.

SPA leaders accused the Union government of ignoring Tamil Nadu’s interests on several fronts, including unequal sharing of GST revenue, refusal to release funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) over Tamil Nadu’s non-acceptance of the NEP-2020, and now denying approval for Metro projects in Coimbatore and Madurai.

Chief Minister and DMK President M.K. Stalin strongly criticised the Centre’s stance, calling it “disgraceful”, “an act of revenge”, and a distortion of federal principles. He asserted that Tamil Nadu—“the land of self-respect”—would never accept such discriminatory treatment.