PM Modi's 'Lunch Pe Charcha' With Jayalalithaa at Poes Garden

Chennai: Over lunch at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden residence in Chennai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today sought her support on the big reform the Goods and Services Tax, a bill which his government needs to push through Parliament urgently.

Ms Jayalalithaa's party, the AIADMK, had submitted a dissent note to a Parliamentary committee studying the bill. The Modi government has reportedly assured Ms Jayalalithaa that her party's apprehensions will be addressed.  

While the AIADMK maintains an independent status in Parliament, it has consistently provided crucial support to the BJP-led government on key issues. The government is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha and depends on the support of regional parties like the AIADMK to push through key legislation.

Ms Jayalalithaa's party has also stayed away from the opposition protests led by the Congress that have disrupted Parliament in the ongoing Monsoon Session.

At lunch today, the two leaders discussed greater Centre-state cooperation and PM Modi reportedly promised Ms Jayalalithaa the financial assistance she has sought.

Politics was discussed too, said sources. Ms Jayalaithaa's lunch invitation to PM Modi sparked speculation about another BJP bid for a strategic alliance with the powerful regional leader.

Tamil Nadu votes for a new Assembly in 2016, and PM Modi's BJP has been looking to spread its influence in the southern state. In the national election that brought the party to power last year, Tamil Nadu was one state where it could not make a dent, despite knitting an alliance of several regional parties

Ms Jayalalithaa's AIADMK had won 37 of the state's 39 seats then, making it the third-largest contingent of lawmakers in the Lok Sabha, only seven less than national party Congress.  

PM Modi was once described by Ms Jayalalithaa as a "very good friend." In the past they have attended each other's oath ceremonies as chief ministers, though Ms Jayalalithaa skipped PM Modi's oath ceremony last May to protest against his invitation to then Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is accused by Tamil Nadu parties of war crimes.

The last time PM Modi visited Poes Garden was not to meet Ms Jayalalithaa, but her famous neighbour, film star Rajnikanth, while campaigning for the national elections.