Pattali Makkal Katchi president G K Mani on Tuesday conducted an advisory meeting with several political parties, traders associations and trade unions at Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu, for extending their support to the state-wide general strike call given by the Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Movement on February 4. He claimed that traders associations, political parties and trade unions supported the strike call, demanding a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
Pattali Makkal Katchi founder-leader Dr S Ramadoss on Monday said that his party has not taken a final decision about joining the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam-Congress combine to fight the Tamil Nadu assembly poll. On Sunday, DMK chief and TN Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had told the media in Delhi that the PMK will fight the state polls with the DMK-Congress alliance. Many other political parties had also approached the PMK to forge a coalition.
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.
He claimed that a couple of days ago Karunanidhi had reportedly said in Thanjavur that the award was more advantageous to Tamil Nadu than to Karnataka.
In the AIADMK-led front, the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam was forging ahead in 23, the Communist Party of India-Marxist in 10 and the CPI in five constituencies. All top leaders of the AIADMK including Jayalalithaa, O Panneerselvam and K A Sengotaiyan, DMDK founder Vijaykanth, DMK patriarch and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and his son M K Stalin were leading over their nearest rivals
Talking to media persons in Chennai after chairing the party's emergent administrative committee meeting, which was attended by six parliamentarians and 18 legislators, PMK founder-leader Dr S Ramadoss said though different views were expressed in the meeting, the party had decided to renew talks with the DMK to sort the issue.
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.
A section of the party, including some OBC leaders, feel that the Congress should give up this dilemma for its own good\nas it would not be politically wise to allow parties like DMK, PMK and RJD to run away with the credit.
Controversy over the alleged suicide of senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader W R Varadrajan refused to die down as the offices of a television channel and the Left party were attacked on Friday allegedly by rival party workers over telecast of a report on the death of the Marxist leader.
Sixth additional sessions judge R Sadayandi restrained the channel from telecasting the serial, either in the name of Maveeran Veerappan or Santhanakadu, including its advertisement and trial version of the serial about Veerappan in any form.
They have been itching for revenge ever since PMK supporters reportedly ransacked some theatres in where Rajnikanth's film Baba was being screened.
Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam, which had snapped ties with Pattali Makkal Katchi two months ago, on Sunday invited the S Ramadoss-led party back in the alliance, a move supported by senior Congress leader P Chidambaram.Karunanidhi, in an interview, said the Democratic Progressive Alliance in the state would have been stronger if the PMK continued in the alliance but stressed that the alliance had not been weakened due to its ouster.
The jeep, which blew up, killing 16 people, carried 200 kg of 'slurry explosives,' 150 electric detonators and 375 metres of safety fuse, Karunanidhi said.
Two days after snapping ties with the Pattali Makkal Katchi, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu on Friday said it was prepared to revive the same if the leadership of that party expressed regret for the 'vituperative' speeches by PMK leader J Guru against DMK leaders and take action against him.
"If the coalition partners had to support all the decisions of the ruling party, why should they have separate parties? They could as well dissolve their parties and merge with the DMK and sing peans in its favour. This is what the DMK is expecting from its allies."
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.
Ninth Schedule: Readers' view on SC ruling
While the ruling Congress and opposition BJP have welcomed it, other parties have expressed concern.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Tuesday dismissed a media report about the state police tapping telephones of political leaders, journalists and others, terming it as baseless and speculative. The daily had reported that the telephones of leaders of political parties, academicians, businessmen, lawyers, journalists and police officers were being tapped "in the guise of monitoring militant and anti-national activities."
Veerasamy's angry outbursts was in connection with his charge that the PMK leader had built a college in farm lands in Villupuram district and Dr Ramadoss launching a mud slinging campaign against him, while stoutly denying the allegations against him.
Pattali Makkal Katchi founder Dr S Ramadoss on Tuesday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi and expressed concern over the killing of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka. The Centre should not be a silent spectator to the suffering of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Ramadoss told Gandhi.The Sri Lankan Tamil issue has come to the forefront of national politics after Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani participated in a rally organised by Vaiko in New Delhi last week.
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.
Naidu informed the House that he had received letters from Singh and 13 other MPs seeking leave of absence on medical grounds.
In democracy, peaceful agitations and expressing opposition in a peaceful way were basic rights and in such circumstances, there should be a consensus on banning bandhs and general strikes in the country after a public debate, he said.
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.
They enrolled themselves as members of the AIADMK.
Two cases would come up for hearing on November 30 while another at a later date.
The Pattali Makkal Katchi said on Sunday that it has decided to snap ties with the front led by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Jayalalithaa.All was not well in AIADMK-led front after Jayalalithaa recently gave permission to her party MLA C V Shanmugam to file a case in a court seeking to direct the police to include PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss and his son and former Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss in a murder case.
The PMK may join the Jayalalitha led front for the forthcoming elections, after the DMK snapped ties with them.
The Tamil Protection Movement was floated, among others, by the PMK and the Dalit Panthers of India. It aims at making people in Tamil Nadu use Tamil in all walks of life.
The alliance captured civic bodies in Madurai, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Salem, and Tiruchirappalli.
"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 Congress secured the maximum of 48 seats.
With this, the Maran family's cable TV network comes under government control.
The CM said, "He (Vivek) has done little but derived a lot of publicity. He has just done 10 percent of the relief work while the government did the rest."
Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday appointed Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M K Stalin as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and invited him to form the government after he staked claim, submitting a letter on his election as legislature party leader.
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