Former Telecom Minister A Raja, Dravid Munnetra Kazagham MP Kanimozhi and seven others, chargesheeted by the Enforcement Directorate in a 2G scam-related money laundering case, were on Wednesday granted bail by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court.
Thousands of police personnel have been deployed across the state to maintain law and order.
'Of equal importance was the AIADMK's precarious assembly membership, what with 11 of its MLAs including deputy chief minister OPS facing court cases for disqualification and by-elections due in another 21. To shore up the party's numbers for anticipated eventuality on the 11-MLAs' front, the AIADMK leadership in general and chief minister EPS in particular, were even more focussed on assembly seats than LS seats, just now,' says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Calls for inquiry into attempts by 'vested interests'.
"Any fight with the Congress will remain in the state. At the national level, we will fight together, this I am saying from the heart..." she said.
Selvi was known for her proximity with DMK chief Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi and political observers feel it might have been one of the reasons for naming her as the Union Minister to fill the vacancy created by Maran's exit.
Protests were held in many cities across the country. So far, no one has been arrested for the attack on students and teachers at JNU even as clamour for resignation of the V-C grew.
In one village, a woman asks, "They are always showing cash seizures on television, you think some of it will escape and we will get money as usual?" "Only 1 percent of cash is actually seized, the rest has arrived, you don't worry," a party worker assures her. Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar reports on the election in the southern-most tip of the country.
'What we have is the bill and the Act passed by Parliament.' 'And then there is a criterion of exclusion as to who will not be covered in EWS.' 'Beyond that, we have no clue where this idea came from.' 'And most importantly, why is it 10% reservation, and say why not 15% or 20%?'
70-plus years after Independence, 'Hindu India, metamorphosised as 'Hindutva India', is proving the British right -- and for all the wrong reasons. Mohan Bhagwat should have answers for the why of it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
M K Stalin might not have his father's charisma, but he has learnt the ropes the long, hard way, says T E Narasimhan
The Congress expressed its 'whole-hearted' support to the 'Bharat bandh' called by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success.
Panneerselvam said Sasikala is only a 'temporary general secretary' and proper elections have to be held to elect new party chief.
RJD president Lalu Prasad will not attend the celebrations due to ill health.
For now, Edappadi K Palaniswami is in the saddle in Tamil Nadu, and firmly so. Both inside the party and the government, he has made OPS a yes-man, as the latter used to be under Jayalalithaa, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Allotting seven seats to smaller allies, AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Monday released the list naming candidates for the rest of 227 seats for which she held interviews for ticket aspirants from across Tamil Nadu in the past two weeks.
In the second phase on April 18, 97 seats,spread across 13 states and one Union Territory, will go to the polls.
'Modi is still immensely popular and, therefore, he can sustain any number of policy failures.' 'Modi himself has worn multiple faces so it would be naive to think that the Modi of 2021 will be the same Modi that will be campaigning for re-election in 2024.'
Justice G Jayachandran disposed of the petitions filed by Bharathi and another one by the non-governmental organisation 'Arappor Iyakkam' represented by Jairam Venkatesh seeking a direction to the DVAC to probe the complaint. "...The inquiry has to be completed as expeditiously as possible...," the judge said.
The great Indian election is over and now the wait for the results is shrinking with every passing moment. Though exit polls hint at a cakewalk for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his National Democratic Alliance, there are some battles which will be keenly observed on the result day.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was on Saturday convicted and sentenced to four years jail in an 18-year-old corruption case in a judgment that will unseat her from the post, disqualified her immediately as an MLA and can impact the Assembly elections due in 18 months.
"(Former PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee said 'raj dharma' was not followed in Gujarat (during the 2002 riots). Now, 'raj dharma' is not being followed in case of Andhra Pradesh. We have been denied what was rightfully ours," he claimed.
The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill and The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill passed amid din.
Thursday's protests across Tamil Nadu was less pro-Cauvery and more anti-Modi in character and content -- including in it various development projects in the state that are perceived as 'environmentally unfriendly' and hence 'anti-Tamil', says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Supporters of the bull taming sport Jalikattu on Tuesday staged protests in Tamil Nadu after SC stayed the Centre's notification lifting the ban on it.
Inaugurating the Defence Expo in Thiruvidanthai in Tamil Nadu, Modi said the Defence Procurement Procedure was revised with many specific provisions for stimulating growth of the domestic defence industry.
Celebrities and politicians made a beeline for polling stations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, as both the states go to the polls on Monday.
Oppn members went into the area of treasury benches carrying a black banner, which demanded Shah's resignation, as Speaker Om Birla continued with proceedings of the House.
Owaisi said the CBI should appeal against the judgment "to protect its independence."
There was high drama before the commencement of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for medical and dental courses, at various centres across Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchirapalli, Namakkal, Tirunelveli and Vellore when students were frisked and some were asked to cut off their sleeves, while a few female students were asked to remove their bras!
Speaker Om Birla he will hold a meeting with leaders of all parties and then take a decision.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi on Tuesday appeared to doubt the Election Commission's neutrality, asking if the poll body was 'pretending' to be so in enforcing the model code of conduct.
'We will have a big say in Delhi in 2018 or 2019 (whenever the elections are) in the Lok Sabha.'
With Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections, results for 51 assembly and two Lok Sabha bypolls spread across 18 states were declared on Thursday. Here are state-wise results of the bypolls.
Prime Minister Modi described the DMK chief as a prolific thinker and a deep-rooted mass leader who stood for regional aspiration and national progress.
While in the AIADMK office you could feel the vibes of victory, at OPS' house you could feel the struggle.
Thackeray, 59, became the third Sena leader after Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane to occupy the top post.
Even without Shah's TN visit and the rest, the increasing bonhomie between the BJP and the AIADMK factions in the state have become more visible than ever in the post-Jaya era, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Criticising the Central government's move not to consider marital rape as a crime, Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Barkha Shukla on Thursday said that the former was compromising on the right and independence of women.