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.
What India needs more than one simultaneous election is better governance both at the central and state level. Yes, we need reforms, but our priority should be to make elections less expensive, make it more democratic, do away with freebies which are actually bribes before elections, allow only those who are educated to contest, and bring in a bill to make it impossible for criminals to contest, advocates Ramesh Menon.
Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and one ex-governor are among those who are set to test their electoral fate in the first phase of elections on April 19 when 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories will go to polls.
Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a notice to move a motion for removing Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for allegedly conducting the House in a partisan manner.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was left embarrassed on Thursday when suspended Denied Member of Parliament and former Union minister M K Alagiri called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Stalin's sister and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi will for the first time try her luck in the Lok Sabha.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology A Raja said he would consider reducing telephone tariffs after he assumed charge of his ministry.
Kanimozhi had challenged a Madras high court order which had refused to dismiss the petition against her.
The party did not formally assign any reason for relieving him from the position.
Constituencies that are going to the polls in the first phase, slated for April 19, have just 19 days for campaigning. Contrast that with those going to polls in the 7th phase, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is hopeful that the issue will come handy to its efforts to gain political traction in Dravidian state as it gears up for the Lok Sabha polls.
Indications are that the DMK combine will win more seats than the AIADMK and BJP, but is facing a tough fight in about half a dozen from the rest, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy of the electoral contest in Tamil Nadu.
Uniform Civil Code is aimed at replacing personal laws based on religions, customs, and traditions with one common law for everyone irrespective of religion, caste, creed, sexual orientation, and gender. Personal laws and laws related to inheritance, adoption and succession are likely to be covered by a common code.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began making submissions on Monday on its appeal before the Delhi high court challenging the acquittal of accused persons, including former telecom minister A Raja, and firms in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case in December 2017.
Gandhi said the Opposition wanted the House to function "often and well" and added that it was very important that cooperation happens on the basis of trust.
'Did you see my pamphlet?' Andimuthu Raja, the 2G scam-tainted DMK MP from Nilgiri, asks Rediff.com's Saisuresh Sivaswamy. 'Two things are very clear. One, that I did not have any disproportionate wealth, as per the CBI's contention before the court. And there has been no loss to the exchequer, which has been admitted by the joint secretary. Under the Prevention of Corruption Act these two things are very important, and that has been ruled out.'
AIADMK insiders see the very idea of an NDA conclave as a measure of the BJP's current electoral assessment, stemming from relative weakness in 2024 compared to 2014 and 2019. In their reckoning, the BJP now needs allies more than the other way round, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The 65-year-old leader's ascent as the DMK chief heralds a new era in the Dravidian party, making him only the second man after his father to be elected as party president.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has referred MPs' complaints on the issue involving BJP member Ramesh Bidhuri's use of objectionable words against BSP's Danish Ali to the Privileges Committee, sources said on Thursday.
Necessary amendments have been made in party rules to facilitate the 63-year-old Stalin's elevation to the post at the DMK general council meeting where Karunanidhi was not present.
The increased numbers of the Opposition bloc would mean that their MPs are likely to head several more panels than the four that they did by the end of the term of the 17th Lok Sabha.
All MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are entitled to vote in the vice presidential election.
Expressing concern over repeated fire incidents in trains, a parliamentary panel has asked the Railways to find a solution to the problem with the help of technology and experts to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Sibling rivalry in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam came to the fore for yet another time on Saturday, with the party high command dissolving a Madurai unit and replacing it with a temporary body dominated by supporters of its Treasurer M K Stalin.
The work on seat sharing with other allies will begin from Thursday, he told reporters.
The DMK parliamentary party appears to be a house divided, reports R Rajagopalan.
'The people of Tamil Nadu in particular Chennai know about the double standards of the BJP. Nothing will work for them here.'
The United Progressive Alliance government will suffer a set back if ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam doest not contain the infighting between T R Baalu, leader of DMK parliamentary party, and Union Minister S S Palanimanickam, DMK's five time MP from Thanjavur constituency, over the new railway line in Thanjavur.
Members of Parliament from the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam have threatened to forcefully occupy the office of Telugu Desam Party inside Parliament house next week.
'They are all the time asking people not to do this, not to do that.' 'Their version of society and Hinduism is very warped; not an inclusive one.'
It was decided by Tamil Nadu Congress to push for at least 45 seats and in a worst case scenario climb down a few seats and conclude the deal and it has worked out as was expected.
Interestingly, all the three next generation leaders -- Rahul, Kanimozhi and Supriya -- are children of the country's political stalwarts.
"Accused Raja had filed an application seeking permission to visit Tamil Nadu from today evening to Monday (August 20) night. Senior PP (of the CBI) has no objection to the prayer. Since the matter has already been listed on August 21, prayer is allowed," the judge said.
The attack comes a day after senior DMK leader and state Electricity Minister N Veerasamy took strong exception to the reported 'fatwa' by Vedanti for beheading Karunanidhi.
The Supreme Court has granted bail to five corporate executives in 2G spectrum case.
The much-awaited trial in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, involving high-profile accused, including former Telecom Minister A Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi, top corporate honchos and telecom firms, is likely to commence from Friday before a Delhi court.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday rejected the bail application of Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam Member of Parliament and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi.The court also rejected the bail application of Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar.The DMK MP had stated that she should be granted bail since she has a young son to look after and her husband lives abroad. She pointed out that she was the only woman who has been jailed for 2G scam.
DMK will be contesting two seats while it has left one seat each to allies Congress and CPI.
Welcoming the arrest of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member of Parliament Kanimozhi in the 2G spectrum allocation case, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said this was possible only because the case was monitored by the Supreme Court and demanded that it also oversees cases related to corruption in the Commonwealth Games.
While DMK MP Kanimozhi will walk out of Tihar after being incarcerated for nearly six months, the anxious wait for bail continues for many other high-profile accused of the 2G scam, says Sheela Bhatt
