The culture of freebies burdens coming generations with the huge bill for the flagrant abuse of power by preceding governments, points out Virendra Kapoor.
R Gopal, the editor of Tamil magazine 'Nakkheeran', who had written articles on a sex scandal involving a woman college teacher, was picked up by police from the airport before he could board a flight to Pune, officials said.
The infighting in the AIADMK has made it weak on par with the DMK and other parties, says R Rajagopalan.
Cosying up to suspended Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader M K Alagiri, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday termed him as an "important person" and said the party would gain in the Lok Sabha polls if he extends his support to it.
Utter confusion prevails in the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu.
Cracking the whip on the dissidents, Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam headed by actor Vijaykant has suspended seven of its legislators, who did not vote for the party's nominee in the recent Rajya Sabha biennial polls, for alleged anti-party activities, party sources said on Saturday.
The development came a day after the Jammu and Kashmir government issued a statement asking political leaders not to visit the Valley.
The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, the main opposition party in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, on Thursday announced that it will contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in alliance in Tamil Nadu and that it has begun talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
DMK working president M K Stalin led a protest in Chennai and sought promulgation of an ordinance to allow holding the sport.
The government is banking on help from regional parties and rejigged numbers in the Rajya Sabha.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa's electioneering using helicopter to criss-cross Tamil Nadu has become a poll plank for opposition parties in the state as the campaign gathers momentum.
In private, AIADMK spokespersons say that the raid on Chief Secretary P Ramamohana Rao might be aimed at weakening the AIADMK, and demotivating the party from selecting/electing Jayalalithaa's confidante, Sasikala Natarajan, as her successor -- first as party head then possibly in the government, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'As someone who has had the opportunity of cross examining Vinod Rai, extensively over three days as part of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, many of us included I had concluded at that point of time that this report rests on the foundation of sand.'
Despite the indisputable facts demonetisation and its pain is yet to have a quantifiable political backlash. But this is provided the government can limit the damage to the next one week.
Sasikala may be set to take over the reins of Tamil Nadu, yet she faces a period of immense turbulence.
The judgment in the 2G case is a huge, huge, indictment of the criminal investigation and justice system, says R Jagannathan.
Expressing anguish over India's decision to participate in the upcoming CHOGM in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Assembly today passed a resolution at its emergent session demanding "complete boycott" of the summit, as Congress and two other parties kept away from voting.
'She dwarfs every known politician of recent times with her imperious aura, iron will, tremendous drive, dauntless pursuit of goals she set before herself, ability to capture the people's imagination and unshakeable grip over her party and government,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
The one national GST unifies the country's $2 trillion economy and 1.3 billion people into a common market, an exercise that took 17 tumultuous years.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa was acquitted on Monday by the Karnataka high court in the 19-year-old disproportionate assets case, a verdict that is sure to put her back in the Tamil Nadu chief minister's seat.
The campaign has gathered steam for the June 27 bypoll contest in Tamil Nadu featuring Chief Minister Jayalalithaa as All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam workers are going all out to ensure her victory against the lone Communist Party of India challenger.
Aditi Phadnis and Archis Mohan take a state by state takedown of the party's chances in the poll-bound states.
If the Cauvery water-sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu -- dating back to 1892 between the erstwhile Madras Presidency under the British Raj and the princely Mysore state -- has exploded again into a war, the discord between Karnataka and Goa over dividing the water of the Mahadayi river simmers under the surface.
'One thing is clear from what happened last night; both sides are being manipulated by the same party with a lot of wrong inputs.' 'I see a hand in Delhi doing the puppet act on both sides.'
The threat to Sasikala won't come from the Tamil Nadu chief minister or New Delhi, but from her 20-plus kin, reports R Rajagopalan.
The past three weeks have demonstrated that the Congress is still to recover from the drubbing it received in Lok Sabha elections, says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal
'The TDP walking out of the NDA is a victory for the YSRCP.' 'The YSRCP wanted it to happen so that it would help them in coming elections.'
'Narendra Modi might not have made 145 in Maharashtra, but it is definitely true that the Congress, and other dynastic parties, are well and truly stumped.'
Despite the BJP's displeasure over Sasikala's elevation as AIADMK general secretary, the Dravidian party has sent a message to the Modi government that it will not be cowed down, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Anti-incumbency, especially in Maharashtra; the BJP's success in creating a new social coalition; and the sheer force of the party's campaign which overwhelmed its opponents,' argues Praful Bidwai, brought the BJP victory in Haryana and Maharashtra, not the Modi effect.
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