The Indian authorities have to reconfirm that Prabhakaran is dead. It may require seeking assistance from Interpol and also involve the re-opening of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, and more so, the investigations, formally or otherwise, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
"Some are creating an impression that Rajinikanth is to launch a party at the instigation of people who intend to decimate the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu. "Let me tell you, this is the land of Periyar (Dravidar Kazhagam founder E V Ramasamy Naicker), Anna (C N Annadurai) and Kalaignar (Karunanidhi)... such efforts in the past have ended in a fiasco," Stalin said.
In Tamil Nadu, though reformist spiritual giant Sri Ramanujacharya was a crusader against discrimination who nurtured equality almost a millenium ago, the broad canvas of social justice had only an occasional place for him.
What does Udhayanidhi's induction as minister mean? For the DMK, it indicates the future course, direction and leadership. It is continuity with change, and change with continuity, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The strained relationship between the ruling Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam and its key ally Pattali Makkal Katchi on Friday reached a flashpoint with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi asserting that his party would take a decision whether to continue the relationship 'in five or six days'.Karunanidhi said that PMK leader and president of Vanniyar Sangam G Guru had spoken at a public meeting recently, threatening Union Minister A Raja and DMK MLA S Sivasankar.
Tamil Nadu's voters wanted tough leaders at the helm, to the point of being autocratic. It was what Karunanidhi, MGR and Jayalalithaa ended up becoming, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
"An impression is created that Congress president Sonia Gandhi personally talked to M Karunanidhi to keep the Hogenakkal project on hold," he said in a statement in New Delhi on Wednesday, backtracking on his previous statement in Bangalore on the subject.Karunanidhi has already said that the decision was not based on any request made by the Congress and was meant for the welfare of the people of both the states.
His likable boy-next-door face and casual approach to public speaking have a unique appeal for the younger generation, but it stops there, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
DMK working president M K Stalin has appealed to cadres to remain calm and to follow discipline in 'this hour of grief'.
The 94-year-old leader is currently being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection with intravenous antibiotics and fluids.
Security has been beefed up at Karunanidhi's Gopalapuram residence as DMK cadre kept pouring in there.
A special court on Thursday held that the prosecution "miserably failed" to prove the charges in 2G scam case.
With the Tamil Nadu electorate having given him an unprecedented mandate that had eluded his father the late M Karunanidhi, Stalin has to prove his worth, ensuring at the same time that the Dravidian drag on the AIADMK's side does not open up space for the BJP to make inroads in the state, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A relatively quiet foray by actor Vijay into politics through the TN rural local body elections last month has captured the attention of many, reports Shine Jacob.
Party insiders concede statements of the Raja kind have the potential to hurt the DMK's electoral chances in closely-fought seats in 2024, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
They said the picture did not feature any 'life support system like a ventilator' and it was reassuring that their Thalaivar (leader) was recuperating well.
The internal feud in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam intensified on Thursday with the high command ordering suspension of five loyalists of M K Alagiri, elder son of party chief M Karunanidhi, over recurring instances of "mischievous posters" in Madurai.
The new entrants in Tamil Nadu politics, actor-turned-politicians Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, have decided to stay away from the elections, reports T E Narasimhan.
From social engineering to bearing the cost of COVID-19 treatment to financial reconstruction of Tamil Nadu's debt the debutant chief minister is emerging as a leader with a difference, says Shjne Jacob
Dubbing as the beginning of the "imposition of Hindi", the National Democratic Alliance government's reported directive to officials to give priority to the language in the social media, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should focus on economic growth and social development.
Mamata Banerjee fended off a spirited challenge by a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal with a landslide victory for her Trinamool Congress on Sunday for a third consecutive term and the saffron party and the Left Democratic Front were poised to form government again in Assam and Kerala respectively while the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam stormed back to power in Tamil Nadu after a gap of 10 years.
The BJP top leader's Tamil pitch assumes significance Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had some days back alleged that the saffron party had no respect for Tamil language and culture.
Karunanidhi had expelled Azhagiri and his supporters from the party in 2014 at the height of his fight with his younger brother M K Stalin over establishing supremacy in Tamil Nadu's main opposition party.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M Karunanidhi on Friday described Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as a 'hardworker' and a 'good friend.'
A formal decision would be made on the Chief Ministerial candidate of the NDA once the Election Commission issues the notification for the assembly elections, expected in April-May, he said, adding the strategy was part of the ongoing exercise to strengthen the BJP in the state.
Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi, who is smarting under the Assembly poll debacle and fallout of the 2G spectrum scam that has brought his family under the scanner, turned 88 on Friday, keeping his birthday celebrations on a low-key.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M K Stalin will try his luck once again from Kolathur constituency in Chennai in the April 6 Tamil Nadu assembly elections while his son Udhayanidhi will make his electoral debut by contesting from the Chepauk-Triplicane segment in the metropolis.
Breaking his silence over India's participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting scheduled at Colombo next month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said a decision would be taken only after considering all relevant factors, including sentiments of Tamil people.
Hardening its stand, key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Sunday slammed the Centre for its "lukewarm" response on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue and threatened to walk out of the ruling alliance if it failed to move amendments to the US-sponsored resolution at the UNHRC.
"Stalin is the future of the party," said late Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam patriarch M Karunanidhi about six years ago at a party meet when his son was party treasurer.
A Ganesh Nadar marvels at the grandiose state conference of the DMK, held in Tiruchirappalli over the weekend
Ending its decade long stint in the opposition, even relegated to the third spot in the House in 2011, the M K Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam made a spirited comeback to the ruling saddle to unseat its rival the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Stalin, like his father M Karunanidhi did in 2004, may play the king-maker in a way -- not the king, unless the 2024 post-poll circumstances throws up a situation where he alone becomes acceptable to the rest, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Jahnavi Mehta. Kaviya Maran. Preity Zinta.
"Within a few weeks, Rahul Gandhi will become the prime minister. In your (Gandhi's) hands the country will be safe we believe," he said.
The Modi government wants to have a smooth relationship with the DMK government.
Key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday condemned the petrol price hike and demanded that the government retain its control on the pricing of petroleum products, besides seeking a change in the pricing policy. Party chief M Karunanidhi said the issue had become similar to that of attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen -- allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy -- with political leaders issuing statements expressing concern during such incidents.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagamchief M Karunanidhi on Wednesday said Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa's statement -- that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's cadres were still trying very hard to revive the conflict -- was aimed at diverting the world's attention from the alleged human rights violations in the island republic.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Wednesday strongly criticised Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for ruling out greater political autonomy for Tamils, saying India should at least "wake up" now and help secure their livelihood and democratic rights.
'The Congress can exist without (someone from) the Nehru-Gandhi family being its president.'
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