DMK deputy general secretary and Lok Sabha MP A Raja has likened Sanatan Dharma to disease like leprosy that had social stigma.
'If you don't fulfil whatever they ask, you are in trouble.'
Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi has sparked controversy by asking students at a government-aided college in Madurai to chant "Jai Shri Ram". The State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN) has demanded his removal, alleging that he violated his oath of office and secular principles. The group claims Ravi's actions were against the Constitution, which outlines India as a secular country and emphasizes the importance of upholding secular values in education. The incident follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that overruled Ravi's decision to withhold 10 Bills passed by the Tamil Nadu government, highlighting ongoing tensions between the Governor and the state administration.
The Saffron party alleged that the accused was a DMK office-bearer, which was denied by the ruling party.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin turned 70 on March 1, 2023.
A three-judge Supreme Court bench will hear petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, on April 16. The petitions, including those by politicians and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, were filed in the top court challenging the validity of the newly-enacted law. The Centre has filed a caveat in the apex court, seeking a hearing before any order is passed.
A number of leaders from Tamil Nadu, including 15 former MLAs and an ex-MP, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi on Wednesday as the ruling party looks to strengthen its presence in the southern state in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
Amid speculation about him campaigning in favour of Narendra Modi after he endorsed the Bharatiya Janata Party's PM candidate, rebel Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader MK Alagiri is soon set to launch a state-wide tour to hold consultations with loyalists across Tamil Nadu as he looks to galvanise them ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
'It could have been lethal and the consequences would have been very tragic.'
Twenty suspended Rajya Sabha members on Wednesday started a 50-hour relay protest inside the Parliament complex, with sources saying the Opposition declined the chairman's offer that they express regret over their members' behaviour in the House to get the suspension revoked.
Glimpses from Parliament and outside Parliament on Tuesday.
All opposition members of the parliamentary panel on the Waqf Amendment Bill were suspended for a day on Friday amid continuous protests and accusations against Chairman Jagdambika Pal of steam-rolling through the proceedings.
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu has slapped a legal notice on state Bharatiya Janata Party chief K Annamalai over his graft allegations against the party, its president and Chief Minister M K Stalin, and demanded an apology and damages to the tune of Rs 500 crore.
The chairman raised the issue of mimicry of the speaker and the chairman by an MP and the videography of the act, saying this was shameful and there has to be a limit.
Justice N Anand Venkatesh, who holds the portfolio for MP/MLA cases in the state, took up the cases against senior ministers Thangam Thennarasu and his wife and KKSSR Ramachandran and his spouse and also a friend of the DMK leader.
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.
Kanimozhi also encouraged the school children to have the delicious meal.
Even as parleys continue in both states, the grand old party is expected to contest less than 110 seats in the November 20 polls for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly.
The Congress on Tuesday claimed the bill on holding simultaneous polls was against federalism and 'anti-constitutional', and said the voting at its introduction stage in Lok Sabha showed the Bharatiya Janata Party lacks the two-thirds majority required to pass a constitutional amendment.
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.
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday announced a series of appointments, including retaining party president and Chief Minister M K Stalin's son Udhayanidhi as its youth wing secretary, and replaced Kanimozhi with Helen Davidson in the women's wing.
The BJP, which has allied with a few smaller parties, has sought to upend the state's conventional politics, which has so far been indifferent to Hindutva politics, by taking the ruling DMK head-on for its alleged insult of Sanatan Dharma besides involvement in corruption.
'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.'
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the BJP of a "conspiracy to save Home Minister Amit Shah's skin" following a clash in Parliament over allegations of disrespect towards B.R. Ambedkar. She alleged that BJP MPs instigated the violence and pushed opposition members, including Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, to prevent them from entering Parliament. Gandhi also challenged BJP MPs to say "Jai Bhim" and accused them of having "violent intentions" and insulting the legacy of Ambedkar.
The two 'One Nation One Election' (ONOE) bills, including one requiring an amendment in the Constitution, that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday after a fiery debate.
Stalin, in an interview to a daily, has refuted the FM's allegations, saying "everyone present in the Assembly knew it was a drama enacted by herself," referring to the late Jayalalithaa.
There is a proposal from the BJP camp that they would resort to a proportion-based increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for individual states, based on what they now have. On the face of it, this sounds like a fine argument that those demanding a 'freeze' now cannot oppose without reasons and justification, avers N Sathiya Moorthy.
For the BJP, Telangana is a sunrise state in the South, while Karnataka is a southern success despite the ups and downs.
What some of our leaders were up to on over the weekend.
On Monday, Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, mentioned an interim application before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala.
The INDIA bloc has 95 MPs in Rajya Sabha of which 45 were suspended on Monday.
Now, the total number of MPs suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session of Parliament stands at 14 -- 13 from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha.
The CBI contended before the Delhi high court on Tuesday that there were glaring illegalities in the trial court judgment that acquitted former telecom minister A Raja and others in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case.
The Supreme Court has sought details from the Allahabad High Court regarding controversial statements made by Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav at a VHP function. The development comes amid calls for action against the judge for his remarks, which have been labeled as hate speech by some. The judge's statements were made at a VHP function on December 8, where he spoke about the Uniform Civil Code and the law working according to the majority. Several individuals and organizations, including lawyer Prashant Bhushan and CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, have called for an inquiry into the judge's conduct and for his removal from judicial duties.
'We are not opposed to any Indian language. We are against Hindi imposition.'
Opposition parties Nationalist Congress Party and Samajwadi Party on Wednesday demanded reservation for OBCs in the women's reservation bill and questioned the reason for calling a special session when the bill cannot be implemented before census and delimitation.
It is increasingly clear that for the BJP to try and establish itself as an electoral force in Tamil Nadu, the party has to come out of the old Brahminical mould, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
So, how does it feel when a fellow Parliamentarian doubles up as your commercial aircraft pilot?
Raja said though the icon of the Dravidian movement, Thanthai Periyar stood for an independent Tamil Nadu, the DMK moved away from it.
'It is a great privilege that after 1970 this is the first private bill that has been passed by Parliament. The bill was supported across party lines and I am very happy with the result,' says DMK MP Tiruchi Siva whose private member bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha, the first in 46 years.
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