Joshi, however, clarified that he did not support the banned practice and that his remarks were on the tradition of 'Jauhar'.
Ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament, former Congress ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday indicated its support to the UPA's 'game-changer' Food Security Bill even though it has wanted a few changes in it.
However, the tilting factor still remains: Can the rivalling 'Modi brand' of 'soft Hindutva' and 'hard-sell nationalism' garner more votes for the NDA in Tamil Nadu, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
This is the first bill passed by the Lower House of Parliament in the Winter session, which began on Monday.
A delegation of opposition party leaders on Friday met the top brass of Election Commission to raise its concerns over poll code violations by the ruling party leaders, and also flagged concerns over delay in release of voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the polls.
Southern Railway however clarified that the issue was the result of a particular user selecting Hindi as the preferred language while registering in the IRCTC website. 'Language is an option in e-ticketing,' a Southern Railway release said.
Is it is necessary to play divisive politics to succeed in the next general elections? asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday alleged that use of money, muscle power and misuse of official machinery by the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam were responsible for the party's worst-ever performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, where it drew a blank.
The DMK leadership may now have to deal with a demand for more seats from its Congress ally in the Lok Sabha polls, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The application, filed through advocate AP Singh, said, "The Acts were passed hastily without adequate discussion... Inherent weaknesses of the agricultural sector cannot be addressed by way of monetization of farmers."
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam patriarch M Karunanidhi was re-elected as party president for the 11th time in a row by the newly constituted general council on Friday.
The Congress on Thursday gave enough indications that there was no trouble to its alliance with Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam despite the party strongly backing former telecom minister A Raja and described the move as the ally's "internal matter".
Smarting under the electoral debacle and arrest of party MP Kanimozhi, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Sunday made a token presence at the second anniversary celebrations of UPA-II where none of its six Union ministers were present.
Udhayanidhi, the 45-year old actor-producer is hailed as the "rising sun" by DMK workers, in obvious reference to the party's Rising Sun symbol.
In separate letters to the speaker, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Supriya Sule of the NCP, DMK leader Kanimozhi and TMC's Aparupa Poddar said what had happened with Ali is unfortunate and that action should be taken against Bidhuri.
For now, the DMK can be expected to sound the bugle for Opposition unity at the national level, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Income tax authorities on Friday launched coordinated searches across different locations in Tamil Nadu linked to state Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji, police sources said.
On one hand, South Indian states have been complaining about denial of a proportionate portion of the sharable funds from the Centre, based on population. On the other hand, they stand to lose Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats that again are based on population, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Calculated or otherwise, if Azhagiri's firing of the first salvo after Karunanidhi's death does not create some space for him to politico-electorally exploit at a later date, there may not be any space left for him at all, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Palanivel Thiaga Rajan was on Thursday relieved of the finance portfolio by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.
As the 49-year-old Lok Sabha MP stepped out of Gate no 4 of the Tihar jail, he was received by DMK MP from Kanyakumari J Halen Davidson.
Disapproving the remarks made by Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sanatan Dharma', Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut has said it is not right to attract the anger of the entire country and that no one agrees with his statement.
By keeping the Sanatana Dharma row alive and adding the Ayodhya temple consecration scheduled for January 22 and adding the free darshan promise from four polled states to the entire country, the BJP may have a self-fulfilling concoction, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Monday's surprise meeting is an admission by the Bharatiya Janata Party that their purported strategy of hoping to ride the popular 'Modi wave' in a Tamil Nadu without Jaya and a bed-ridden Karunanidhi does not have much chance of success, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
If only the Congress could rebuild on its strengths and develop a modern enough ideology, we could again be moving towards a clearer two-party political landscape, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
A group of fans shouted 'Jai Shri Ram' (Hail Lord Ram) multiple times when Rizwan was walking back to the pavilion after being dismissed by pacer Jasprit Bumrah.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee report on 2G spectrum scam, which was to have been tabled in Lok Sabha on September 30 is further delayed until the Winter Session of Parliament.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo M Karunanidhi on Monday renominated former telecom minister and 2G scam accused A Raja for the April 24 Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu. He also sent a strong message to rebels in the party by denying a ticket to his son M K Alagiri.
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan on Monday demanded a thorough probe regarding the alleged attack on Bihar migrant workers and bring the culprits to book, and ensure a hospitable atmosphere for the workforce in Tamil Nadu.
The satta market is accepting bets on how many times Modiji will mention Nehru at his election rallies, says A Ganesh Nadar with a wink.
The 67-year-old gave the example of two neighbouring states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, to buttress his point on why seat-sharing pattern of the INDIA bloc will vary from state to state.
They said they will raise issues related to rising prices, unemployment, corruption and caste census.
Udayanidhi has handed over to the BJP one real issue to draw the line between it and the INDIA alliance, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'They are fighting it out, but they have deeply traumatised; they are alive and they are carrying on in life.'
In the last five years, 480 candidates with declared cases related to hate speech have contested elections to state assemblies, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the ADR said.
At a press conference in Pakhal village in Faridabad, Ramesh said, "This whole Covid drama over the last two days has been orchestrated to defame and derail the Bharat Jodo Yatra from coming to Delhi. That's the only objective."
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday warned the Bharatiya Janata Party not to 'provoke' the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, saying it will not be able to 'bear the consequences' and that his party also knows 'all types of politics', escalating his attack on the saffron party after the arrest of his cabinet colleague V Senthil Balaji.
As many as 14 opposition MPs were suspended from Parliament for the remainder of the winter session for disrupting proceedings, as the Lok Sabha security breach incident snowballed into a major row on Thursday with the government asking the opposition not to "politicise" the "grave national issue" and the Congress, Trinamool Congress and others demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah.
His fresh attack came a day after he said the government is coming up with 'excuses' to stop the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir yatra, which is currently in Haryana and will enter the national capital on Saturday.
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