Two people, including a migrant worker, were allegedly hacked to death by a gang in Nanguneri, Tamil Nadu, sparking protests and political criticism.
'No member of Pattali Makkal Katchi should maintain any association with Anbumani...
'If anyone does so, they too will face strict disciplinary action.'
Pattali Makkal Katchi President Anbumani on Saturday opposed a decision of his father, party founder S Ramadoss, in a party meeting in Puducherry on Saturday, and the octogenarian leader curtly said those who do not wish to follow his diktats should quit the outfit.
The BJP game-plan: Take the top slot, or a close second, either for the 'Lotus' or the larger NDA, if it can and push the AIADMK to the third place, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
According to DMK, the voters are already consolidated on ideological lines, hence the impact of anti-incumbency, whether against the BJP Centre or the DMK state may not be too much, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Madurai bench of the Madras high court on Monday issued an order terming the 10.5 per cent internal reservation for the Vanniyars community in Tamil Nadu as 'unconstitutional.'
The Central Bureau of Investigation has questioned Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S Ramadoss and his son, former Union Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, in connection with the murder of a relative of Tamil Nadu minister for Commercial taxes C Ve Shanmugam, sources said.
The Pattali Makkal Katchi, which clinched a poll pact with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam recently, on Monday said it would extend "unconditional support" to the party to form a government if the combine won the Assembly polls due in May but will continue to raise "issues" being an alliance partner.
Buoyed by the Centre's nod for the creation of Telangana, Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S Ramadoss on Saturday made a fresh demand for bifurcation of Tamil Nadu, saying it would be good on administrative grounds.
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam maintained its winning streak in the two-phase local body elections in the nine newly created districts in Tamil Nadu trouncing the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which had earlier suffered defeat in the April 6 assembly election.
The war of words between the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam and its estranged ally Pattali Makkal Katchi continued, with the latter accusing the ruling party of giving up the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils, whenever it came to power in the state. PMK founder S Ramadoss, in a statement, alleged that the DMK organised agitations on the issue when it was in the opposition and when it came to power, it gave up the issue.
Nedumaran called off his indefinite fast following an assurance from Chief Minister M Karunanidhi that he will take steps for the dispatch of relief materials to the suffering Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka.
A video clip of two Dravida Munnetra Kazagam men removing and throwing away two flex boards embossed with the name and picture of 'Amma' from a state-run canteen in Chenani went viral on Tuesday and they were expelled from the party.
"Those running a caste-based political party here [in Tamil Nadu] and claiming that they are the champions of the Tamil language, cling to power by aligning with North Indian parties," Vijaykant said taking a dig at PMK leader Ramadoss.
The chemical worth Rs 1.80 crore was seized from a Tamil Nadu-based importer in 2015, who had allegedly declared it as fertiliser grade although it was an explosive grade.
Words and actions like those of R N Ravi and a vocal section of the state BJP have only added to Tamil fears and suspicions, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S Ramadoss said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should meet the expectations of the people that prices will go down if he took over and 'it is the duty of the new government to do that.'
Opposing the invitation extended to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Vaiko on Friday met Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh and demanded that the party should 'avoid' the presence of Mahinda Rajapaksa at Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu on Monday welcomed Karnataka government's decision to appeal against Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's acquittal in a wealth case, with DMK terming it as the "right" step by the ruling Congress party.
Party said the Opposition demand is a part of a 'planned campaign' against Sasikala.
The CM also said that the Parliament Secretariat had issued a circular to the MPs stating that they can allot Rs 1 crore worth renovation and rehabilitation efforts in the flood-affected districts from Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday came under fire from the opposition and ally Paattali Makkal Katchi for her push to declare Bhagwad Gita as a national scripture with their leaders saying it was inappropriate and that all religions should be treated equally by the government.
The court order is seen as a major embarrassment for the AIADMK as Palaniswami will be the first chief minister in the state to face a CBI probe over corruption charges.
This time round, even 'petrol coupons' were reportedly distributed for those attending campaign rallies, especially those addressed by top leaders, cutting across party lines. If this owed to the rising cost of petrol and diesel -- which is a poll issue this time -- there were the customary coupons for 'quarter' (liquor bottle size) and non-vegetarian biryani. Some media reports claimed that some of these 'crowds' attended more than one political rally on the same day in the last week, and at times for rival political parties in adjoining constituencies or districts, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
This is perhaps for the first time the CBI raided a serving police chief of a state.
Second-line AIADMK leaders and cadres alike say that by starting the talks first with the BJP and committing the party to an alliance without discussing seat-sharing, the leadership might have commenced the coalition discourse at the wrong end. According to them, even 20 seats for the BJP may be too many, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
At 70, going by hospital records made public, most age and health-related arguments put out against super-star Rajinikanth's entry into politics, before he withdrew citing a 2016 kidney-transplant, hold good for Sasikala, too, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
While the DMK fears that the Congress with its poor strike rate will pull it down in the 2021 state elections, like it did five years ago, the ruling AIADMK is worried that the BJP may ultimately do a Bihar on it, relegating it to second place in Tamil Nadu, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Appointed, sponsored and nurtured' by Jayalalithaa, P Rama Mohana Rao is now seen as a man who holds the key to the secrets of ministers and bureaucrats.
Should the Karnataka high court deliver a verdict in the Jayalalithaa case on Thursday, the Supreme Court bench on Friday could pass orders in her bail extension plea that may end up staying the former ruling, reports N Sathiya Moorthy.
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