In a rare incident, Leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin spoke to chief-minister Edapadi K. Palaniswami over phone and requested the latter to take immediate steps to ensure that the 3-day long stir by Transport staff members is brought to an early end.

Drivers and conductors of State-owned Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses in Chennai and elsewhere in the State have been striking work since Thursday pressing for implementation of revised wages for them. Sporadic incidents of violence have also been reported at a few places in the State even as the High Court of Madras declared the strike as ‘legal’ and warned the strikers to resume work or face action.

Stalin rang up the chief-minister at around 11:00 in the morning and urged the latter to initiate talks with the striking Unions to resolve the issue to end people’s miseries. The tele-chat reportedly lasted 10 minutes. In Tamil Nadu’s politics where opposite party leaders seldom greet each other when they meet in public (unlike the case in the North), Stalin’s tele-talk with the chief-minister assumes significance.

Leader of the Opposition telephoning the chief-minister with the request to resolve a public issue is viewed as a welcome change in the State’s political climate.