'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.'
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.
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 BJP leads with 23 percent of its 90 Rajya Sabha members having declared criminal cases against themselves.
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.
Opposition leaders on Saturday stepped up pressure on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for stringent action against Bharatiya Janata Party's Ramesh Bidhuri over his derogatory remarks against Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali in the House.
'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.'
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 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.
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.
CM Stalin has a procedural problem. Nominating new ministers would entail his having to seek formal permission from governor R N Ravi. Stalin does not want to interact with the person of this governor, as far as possible, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
He argued that if inflation is low, stable and moving towards the 4 per cent target, why has the RBI not revised downward the bank rate fixed in June 2023?
Interestingly, all the three next generation leaders -- Rahul, Kanimozhi and Supriya -- are children of the country's political stalwarts.
The deputy chairman said Singh's action was in utter disregard of rules and the authority of the Chair.
"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.
'We are not worried about raids. We have nothing to hide.'
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
DMK had in early 2013 snapped ties with Congress over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.
The victim and witnesses should feel secure to tell the truth and for that accused might be kept in custody till their evidence is complete, a Delhi court said on Thursday, dismissing the bail pleas of DMK MP Kanimozhi and seven other accused in the 2G case.
Leaders from 26 opposition parties, in power individually or in alliance in Delhi and 10 states, are meeting in Bengaluru to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
All the accused, including the three telecom firms and their promoters, proprietors and top executives, moved the court of Special CBI Judge O P Saini seeking direction to the investigating agency to file the TRAI report, which has said there was no loss to the exchequer in allocation of 2G spectrum.
The senior Congress leader, a Rajya Sabha MP, said "all your friends are greatly relieved that truth has prevailed".
In a state that usually plumbs for a Dravidian major, three candidates have a chance of delivering for the BJP, observes A Ganesh Nadar.
Amid different voices within the Congress and INDIA bloc on DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks against Sanatan Dharma, the principal opposition party on Monday said it respects all religions and stressed that others also have the freedom to express their views.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam deputy general secretary A Raja stoked a controversy over his Shudra remark and drew the Bharatiya Janata Party's ire with the saffron party accusing him of spewing hatred against a community to appease others.
What he has said is shocking and shameful, former Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, noting that the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has repeated his remarks.
Ageing leadership, reckless family-oriented politics, absence of inner-party democracy, lack of debate on core issues within the party are all taking a very heavy toll on the original Dravidian party, says R Ramasubramanian.
Soon after the suspension of 33 opposition Lok Sabha MPs, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said all democratic norms have been thrown into the dustbin by this "autocratic" government and it has shown zero accountability towards Parliament.
"The DMK is not worried a wee bit," he said on the ED searches. Such an action by the ED was 'usual, ordinary and a drama' enacted to divert attention.
Maybe, the need for secrecy may have tied the government's hand from sharing details in Parliament. Still, it should consider the need of sharing the utmost within any consultative committee, so that relative secrecy is still maintained. But such a course should involve the prime minister or home minister, as it is much more serious than is being made out to be, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
A day after Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam announced its decision to pull out of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, the party said today that its ministers would submit their resignations on Monday.
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