All set to take over as the Leader of the Opposition in the 15th Tamil Nadu sssembly, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam scion M K Stalin on Tuesday vowed to do justice to the post and take up people's issues in a constructive way in the legislature.
In Tamil Nadu, the political landscape is shifting as the TVK party's attempt to form a government faces challenges from its potential allies. Both the DMK and AIADMK are experiencing internal divisions regarding extending support to the TVK, leading to uncertainty and speculation about potential realignments.
'If Congress had aligned with the TVK before the election, we would have won almost a two-thirds majority.'
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has claimed victory for the state after the Constitution Amendment Bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha. Stalin criticised the Centre's handling of the Women's Reservation Bill and delimitation process, accusing the BJP of prioritising political gain over fairness and consultation.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin celebrated the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha, emphasising the unity of the south and the triumph of democracy. The bill aimed to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase Lok Sabha seats. Stalin criticised the bill as weakening the balance of the union and asserted Tamil Nadu's commitment to justice, dignity, and federalism.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M K Stalin was on Tuesday unanimously elected as legislature party leader and he is to be sworn-in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu on May 7.
Whether Vijay has the political spine to stitch together a stable government from this patchwork of conditions, demands, and midnight drama is the question Tamil Nadu is living through right now.
'Remember Vijay had never spoke of himself as a Christian when he was a film star.' 'The BJP strategy is they want the Christian minority constituency to move away from the DMK.' 'That is what the BJP wants so that it will be very easy to mobilise Hindu votes.' 'This strategy is to weaken the Dravidian ideology and bring in religion based politics into Tamil Nadu.'
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.
The Indian government and opposition parties are set for a showdown in Parliament over a Constitution amendment bill concerning the implementation of the women's quota law and the delimitation exercise. The Opposition is concerned about the potential impact of delimitation on the political representation of southern states.
Hitting out at the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for boycotting her government's budget on Monday on the ground that she had made many important announcements ahead of it, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday said she had only implemented proposals announced earlier.
In more than one way, it's a setback for the DMK and Chief Minister Stalin in political terms. The electoral fall-out, if any, will have to wait until the next summer, only when assembly elections are due in the state, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has announced that the state's Assembly resolution seeking NEET exemption, which was sent for Presidential assent, has been declined by the Centre. Stalin termed the rejection as a "dark chapter in federalism" and accused the Centre of disregarding the will of the Tamil Nadu people. He also announced an all-political party meeting on April 9 to discuss the issue further.
Unless Governor Ravi or the Union of India moves in appeal, seeking a hearing by a constitutional Bench, this is where it all will have to end, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The hashtag was trending on Twitter on Monday following Ravi's face-off with the state government in the Assembly where Stalin, also president of the ruling DMK piloted a resolution against the Governor's deviation from his customary address to the Legislature and retain the draft prepared by his government.
Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Members of Legislative Assembly, including M K Stalin, the leader of its Legislature Wing, were on Monday suspended for two days from the Tamil Nadu Assembly for unruly behaviour in the House. Stalin and party MLAs Govi Chezhiyan, Thangam Thennarasu and Moideen Khan had to be physically removed by Marshals after they squatted in front of the Chair of Speaker P Dhanapal.
Former Chief Minister Panneerselvam could muster only 11 votes, ending the prolonged stalemate triggered by his rebellion.
The Tamil Nadu Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 2024, which shall come into force on such date as notified by the government, aims to completely eradicate the menace of illicit liquor from the state.
The truce, even if it is not permanence peace, will come under stress and test during the pending polls to rural local bodies in nine revenue districts and urban polls across the state, including those for 16 municipal corporations, starting with Chennai, the oldest and largest, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The work on seat sharing with other allies will begin from Thursday, he told reporters.
'The southern states will have no voice.' 'Political parties in future need to focus only on one region, the northern region, to win the general election.'
The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu had begun seeing Governor Ravi's decisions and actions as a part of the state BJP's non-stop criticism of its government and directed from Delhi, a view strengthened by the governor's decision to return the NEET exemption bill, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Chief Minister Stalin seems to have drawn a line between his personal beliefs and those of others in the family, beginning with wife Durga Stalin, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Without strategising together, Jayalalithaa's successor, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, and M Karunanidhi's son-cum-successor, M K Stalin, have used tough-talking on seat-sharing with allies, to replace charisma that they purportedly lacked, during the run-up to the assembly polls scheduled for April 6, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
The home minister said he was deeply pained at the loss of precious lives during the agitation at Tuticorin.
Stalin said that even in Gujarat the vice-chancellors are not appointed by the governor but the State.
If either faction of the AIADMK failed to muster a floor majority, then the governor would be called upon to ask MK Stalin as the leader of the opposition if he would like to try his hand at government formation.
Chief Minister MK Stalin has shown that he is cut from a different cloth when it comes to embracing what is current, modern and absolutely necessary. Thus, even while retaining the spirit and content of the pan-Tamil, Dravidian socio-political and socio-economic ideology to the 't', his government has also acknowledged the need to accepting scientifically-proven facts in operational matters, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
''He had given tools to fight all forms of homogenisation.'
Expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazahagm leader VK Sasikala on Tuesday arrived in Chennai, 23 hours after her departure from Bengaluru, where she had served a four year jail term in a corruption case and also underwent treatment for COVID-19.
With DMK's M K Stalin coming into his own, and the rival AIADMK too leaving no space for third parties, Tamil Nadu will remain a Dravidian stronghold for a long time, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
In yet another instance of his confrontation with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam dispensation in Tamil Nadu, Governor R N Ravi on Monday concluded his customary address to the House within a few minutes, making certain remarks over the content of the address that were 'expunged'.
The Hindutva social media continues to present the DMK especially as anti-god, anti-Hindu and anti-Brahmin. The strategy did not work in the past, it has not worked in the present, and would not work in the future, as a massive vote-getter, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Monday adopted a resolution to urge the Centre and the President to fix a timeframe for state governors to approve bills adopted by the respective houses.
The Palaniswami camp on Friday got a jolt when one of its MLAs R Natraj, a former state DGP, said that he would vote against the chief minister's motion of confidence.
The revived factionalism in the AIADMK, if not curbed now, has the potential to split the party vertically, warns N Sathiya Moorthy.
V Narayanasamy was on Monday sworn in as the tenth chief minister of Puducherry.