In a move to apparently woo All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Congress leader and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has offered an additional grant of over Rs 93 crore to her government, under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme. In a letter written to the CM, Ramesh mentions that the state government had utilised 60 per cent of the over Rs 273 crore allocated under the NRDWP.
In an apparent fence-mending move following her expulsion from All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's estranged close aide Sasikala on Wednesday said she has snapped ties with all those who had "betrayed" the party supremo.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary J Jayalalitha has appealed to voters in Malad and Sion-Koliwada assembly constituencies in Mumbai, Maharashtra, to elect her party's candidates in the October 13 elections.
The Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered issuance of notice to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on a petition from his All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam rival challenging his election from Sivaganga constituency in the May Lok Sabha elections.
Charging the Centre with being "unhelpful", the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in Tamil Nadu on Monday said the Congress-led UPA's continued attempts to "push through" legislations and adopt a "one-size-fits-all" approach in central schemes would not help Centre-state ties.
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.
Opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam members were on Tuesday evicted en masse from the Tamil Nadu assembly after they disrupted the proceedings by raising slogans to demand the passage of a resolution on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. Speaker R Avudaiyappan ordered the eviction following a request from Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who said raising slogans inside the House was 'uncultured'.
Barely a month after All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa talked about a national role for her party in the Lok Sabha polls due in 2014, Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani on Saturday described her as a "natural ally," fuelling speculation that both parties could come together ahead of the polls. "We see in Jayalalithaa a natural ally," Advani said at the 42nd anniversary celebrations of Tamil weekly 'Thuglaq'.
In an update on its website, Nakkheeran said AIADMK workers attacked its office at Royapettah in Chennai using wooden logs and bottles.
Sasikala's brother-in-law M Palanivel and another relative Kaliyaperumal were expelled from AIADMK.
Joining the BJP at its national headquarters, Annamalai heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he embodies a leader's qualities of fearlessness, courage, knowledge and giving spirit.
Far from silky lives, weavers in Kancheepuram lead a hapless life. Shobha Warrier finds out.
The stalemate in Parliament over Foreign Direct Investment in retail and other issues led to adjournment of the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for the eighth consecutive day on Thursday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday reached out to Jayalalithaa-led All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to seek its support on the issue of foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail.
Exuding confidence that United Progressive Alliance would retain power at the Centre, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad claimed on Friday the alliance would benefit hugely from the National Democratic Alliance's old allies like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Telugu Desam Party snapping ties with it.
BJP national secretary Bandaru Dattatreya on Monday said the AIADMK's 'gameplan' of fielding the widow of deceased legislator S S Thirunavukkarassu at Kancheepuram and the son of murdered MLA K Sudarsanam had resulted in the party's victory.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi is learnt to be interested in reviving a working relationship with the AIADMK's Jayalalithaa, with whom her relations have been far from cordial in the past.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday started his three-day fast at the Gujarat University Convention Centre for "peace, harmony and unity in the state".
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has asserted that his government had no intention to "malign" All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa in the land grabbing case, even as she threatened to sue him for defamation on the issue.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa Monday announced five of her party nominees for the June 27 biennial election to the six Rajya Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu, giving V Maithreyan a successive term.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa made a spectacular comeback in Tamil Nadu on Friday with her victory is the 2011 assembly elections, crushing the corruption-hit DMK. AIADMK-led alliance was on the victory lap in 196 of the state's 234 constituencies and stunned DMK and its allies were set to get only 36 seats. Jayalalithaa and her supporters had every reason to celebrate.
A day after a chaotic meeting of the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, its Chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi along with National Democratic Alliance, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Biju Janata Dal and Left members are exploring the possibility of submitting the draft report on 2G scam to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar before its term expires on Ffriday.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa has declared assets valued at Rs 51 crore, both movable and immovable, in her election affidavit.
The Srirangam assembly seat, a traditional stronghold of the AIADMK that has elected the party nominees six times since 1977, is witnessing an interesting contest between Jayalalithaa, a two-time chief minister, and a political novice N Anand, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam nominee.
Justice Krishnan Ramaswamy delivered the verdict on Monday morning, which allowed the EPS faction to hold the GC meet, the supreme decision making body of the main opposition party in Tamil Nadu.
The Election Commission on Friday ruled out postponing the April 13 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu as demanded by major political parties, including the Opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, saying every issue was factored in before announcing the poll schedule.
The government on Tuesday conceded the opposition demand for having 30 members in the Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the 2G spectrum issue, giving up its earlier plan for a 21-member panel to accommodate smaller parties like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, sources said.
Charging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with having 'silently watched' the 2G spectrum scam, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Jayalalitha on Monday said he was a "weak-kneed head of state taking cover under coalition dharma."
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Jayalalithaa on Thursday said nothing short of a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam was acceptable to her party. She claimed that former telecom minister A Raja's arrest showed that those backing him have now 'accepted his guilt'. "These parties had initially said Raja was not guilty. But they have now accepted his guilt, following his arrest," she told reporters.
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the execution of capital punishment upheld by it earlier for three All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam workers involved in the infamous Dharampuri bus burning incident, in which three college girls were burnt to death in Tamil Nadu in 2000.The order was passed on petitions filed by the three convicts -- C Muniappan, Ravindran and Nedunchezhian -- seeking review of the apex court's verdict last year.
Targetting Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the issue of continued attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen allegedly by Sri Lankan Navy, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday described him as "weak and ineffective" and asked him to quit if "doesn't know what to do".
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Jayalalithaa on Wednesday rubbished reports that her party would have an alliance with the Congress for the coming assembly polls in Tamil Nadu.Jayalalithaa told reporters that her offer of support to the United Progressive Alliance government during the 2G spectrum scam crisis was not for alliance with the Congress.Asked why she had started criticising the Centre of late, she said, "The AIADMK has always voiced its criticism."
Against the backdrop of Tamil Nadu parties, including ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, raising the issue of alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka, a group of 75 Lankan tourists have been asked by the police to return to their country.
He would concentrate on the party's campaign work all over the state.
Party sources said both leaders discussed the present political situation and shared issues of common perspective.
Three AIADMK functionaries were awarded the death sentence by a lower court in the Dharmapuri bus burning case in which three college girls were burnt to death in 2000.
A united opposition on Monday forced adjournment of the Question Hour in both Houses of Parliament, demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the alleged irregularities in the 2G spectrum allocation.As soon as the House met, Bharatiya Janata Party members stormed the well, chanting . 'We want JPC'. They were joined by members of the Shiv Sena and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Justice K Suguna, while granting the interim stay, also ordered issue of notice, returnable by four weeks, to the secretary, State Legislative Assembly and chairman, Committee of Privileges and Stalin.
Slamming the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka for being "determined" in denying Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Jayalalithaa on Monday said that her party would go it alone in the next Lok Sabha polls and secure all 40 seats in order to assert its rights in Delhi.
The Supreme Court quashed on Wednesday a criminal proceeding against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, initiated for filing four nomination papers in the 2001 Assembly polls, and asked the Madras high court to re-examine its order to lodge the case against her.