A Cabinet reshuffle is likely by July 10, a fortnight before the monsoon session of Parliament begins. The Congress wants its allies like the Nationalist Congress Party, Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to hand over some of their high-profile and 'profitable' portfolios. The ruling party reportedly wants Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to part with the food portfolio, so that it can be allotted to Congress's new found ally Ajit Singh.
After predicting a bigger role for her party at the national level in the Lok Sabha polls due in 2014, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa on Monday asked party workers to take a vow to determine the future of Indian politics.
Besides the four Left parties, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Telugu Desam Party, Samajwadi Party, Biju Janata Dal, Janata Dal-Secular and Indian National Lok Dal "have decided to call for a country-wide hartal on July five", a joint statement by top leaders of CPI-M, CPI, Revolutionary Socialist Party and Forward Bloc said in New Delhi.
Rejecting charges of irregularities in allotment of land under discretionary quota, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday hit back at Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy for seeking sanction for his prosecution on the issue, saying he was trying to "twist facts".
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin said on Wednesday that the DMK will not oppose Hindi if it is not "imposed" on Tamil Nadu, stating that forcing the language on Tamils amounts to playing with their self-respect. Stalin's remarks come amidst an intense language row in the state, with the DMK alleging that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was trying to impose Hindi through the three-language formula in the National Education Policy (NEP), a charge denied by the union government.
'Raja had conquered Tihar jail', read the slogans, apparently referring to his incarceration and release from the Delhi prison where he was lodged for 15 months after he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Members of Parliament rushed to New Delhi on Thursday to meet Election Commission officials and seek permission and exemption to cast their votes in Chennai for the forthcoming Presidential poll. Taking a cue from
The AIADMK chief filed her nomination papers for June 27 bypoll to the Radhakrishnan Nagar assembly constituency.
Congress leaders say that even if the Samajwadi Party stops supporting the government, there are other parties that will bail the government out as they need more time to prepare for the elections, reports Renu Mittal
Incumbent DMK MP T Sumathy alias Tamizhachi Thangapandian will face-off former Telangana Governor and BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan, while the the AIADMK has fielded ex-MP Dr J Jayavardhan, who won from here in 2014.
The DMK is having a meeting on Saturday to discuss the situation arising out the raids and what steps the party needs to take and what kind of reaction to formulate.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary V Gopal Swamy alias Vaiko was arrested, along with over 100 party workers, near Amaravathy in Tamil Nadu while he was on his way to Kerala on Friday.Vaiko was leading party workers to check whether the Kerala government was constructing a dam across the Pamba river.Water from the Pamba dam is used to irrigate thousands of acres of land in Tamil Nadu.
Backing Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Friday slammed the demand for his resignation in the wake of a high court order rejecting his plea for dismissal of a petition challenging his election to Lok Sabha, saying it would not be proper to make such a demand without charges being established beyond doubt.
The leaders were understood to have discussed the possible formation of a non-Congress, non-BJP government at the Centre 'on a long-term basis'.
In an apparent U-turn, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi rejected reports that he has threatened a pullout from the United Progressive Alliance government over the recent petrol price hike.
The outcome of the bypolls to a total of 22 assembly segments in Tamil Nadu could decide the continuance of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in the state.
Party leader Jayalalithaa said protests would also be held in states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka and Puducherry, where her party was functioning.
Backing his party colleague A Raja, prime accused in 2G spectrum scam, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday expressed happiness over his securing bail.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma on Tuesday met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa against the backdrop of him favouring a tribal candidate as the next President
A day after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam warned of action against those responsible for putting up inappropriate posters relating to Union Minister M K Alagiri, party chief M Karunanidhi Wednesday said that none of his sons were involved in such activities and blamed a rival camp for it.
Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Tuesday created a storm in Parliament over the alleged role of Home Minister P Chidambaram in the with Lok Sabha being adjourned till noon and Rajya Sabha twice during Question Hour.
TVK cadres are worried, the leadership looks weak, and the party is not fully prepared for the 2026 elections, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Rajya Sabha session was marred by heated exchanges between the opposition and treasury benches regarding the deployment of security personnel in the House. The session was adjourned amidst protests and accusations of undemocratic conduct.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi, who had recently announced his party's decision to face civic polls without ally Congress, on Wednesday, said he was not sure if the national party would support DMK in the Tiruchirappalli (West) bye-election.
BJP national secretary Bandaru Dattatreya on Monday said the AIADMK's 'gameplan' of fielding the widow of deceased legislator S S Thirunavukkarassu at Kancheepuram and the son of murdered MLA K Sudarsanam had resulted in the party's victory.
In the clearest-ever hint, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M Karunanidhi on Thursday indicated that his younger son and treasurer M K Stalin would be successor in the party after him.
Jayalalithaa and Sasikala have made peace after a three-month tiff and though her return may not have any political repercussions, it will impact the government.
Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a part of India's diplomatic mission abroad, on Monday said it is 'distressing' that people back home are calculating political allegiances and asked if it is 'so difficult to be patriotic'.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo M Karunanidhi's gesture to send a high-level team led by the education and archaeological department to meet Modi in Gandhinagar on Monday has created a flutter in Congress circles in New Delhi
Hitting out at the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for boycotting her government's budget on Monday on the ground that she had made many important announcements ahead of it, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday said she had only implemented proposals announced earlier.
In an apparent fence-mending move following her expulsion from All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's estranged close aide Sasikala on Wednesday said she has snapped ties with all those who had "betrayed" the party supremo.
Also doing the rounds in Delhi's power corridors is speculation over the appointment of four new governors, the names of whom are being finalised by the UPA leadership and would be announced around the same time as the cabinet reshuffle.
Ruling constituent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Thursday joined the opposition in stalling proceedings in Lok Sabha and leading street protest in New Delhi on the issue of the new sugarcane policy and vowed to struggle till the ordinance to fix a uniform price is withdrawn.
All the three leaders expressed their best wishes to her, sources said.
Union Environment Minister and senior Congress leader Jayanthi Natarajan on Friday met Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi at his residence in Chennai, a day after he said his party would consult others on fielding a candidate in the Rajya Sabha biennial polls.
The yesteryear hero and his actress wife Manjula are now the popular character artistes in Tamil filmdom.
Despite being one of the "most interesting countries", India needs to get over its ambitions to become a superpower nation, historian Ramachandra Guha has said.
The PM expressed gratitude to the MPs voting in favour of the bill and hoped that it will alleviate sufferings of many who faced persecution.
This is the impression gaining ground in Congress circles here ahead of the emergency meeting of the DMK's high-level Action Committee.
The Congress has virtually blamed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for the drubbing in the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assembly elections. "The results in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry were affected by the 2G scam and these states were lost to other parties," the editorial in the latest issue of 'Congress Sandesh' said. Congress was part of the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu. The issue has come at a time when DMK chief M Karunanidhi is holding an emergency meeting.
