The delegation will now head to Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, where they are expected to arrive on Sunday. Member of the delegation, Brijesh Chowta left earlier for Ljubljana.
Opposition parties in India's Rajya Sabha, including the Congress and the TMC, walked out of the chamber after their demand for a discussion on the Election Commission's alleged lapses in issuing duplicate voter ID cards and delimitation was disallowed. The Deputy Chairman, Harivansh, rejected the notices under Rule 267, citing non-compliance with previous rulings. While TMC and Congress MPs focused on the duplicate voter ID issue, Tamil parties expressed concerns about the impact of delimitation on southern states. Despite raising slogans and pressing for a discussion, the opposition staged a walkout after their notices were rejected and their statements deemed not part of the official record.
The DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Bharatiya Janata Party and all the alliance parties will contest the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu together under the National Democratic Alliance. The significant political development comes ahead of the TN Assembly election to be held in 2026,
Palaniswami has won from Edappadi four times (1989, 1991, 2011 and 2016) and the region is among the strongholds of the ruling party.
Tharoor also said he is honoured by the invitation of the government to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals to present the nation's point of view on recent events.
Family members of the temple guard have alleged that the cause of death of the 28-year-old was not natural, and he passed away allegedly after being beaten and tortured during police interrogation.
The daily said the DMK president, in his address at the 'Mupperum Vizha' on June 15 in Coimbatore, "stood tall by dedicating the victory to the DMK cadres, workers of parties of the INDIA bloc and all the leaders" of the alliance parties.
Leaders showered praises on Karunanidhi, the grand old man of Tamil Nadu politics who entered the state assembly in 1957 and was elected to the House on all the eleven occasions he contested the polls.
Capitalising on the boycott by main opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led Democratic Progressive Alliance on Friday expectedly swept the by-polls to five Tamil Nadu assembly seats, trouncing actor-politician Vijaykant's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam by impressive margins.
Actor-politician Vijayakant's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, launched in 2005 amid fanfare and claims of being an alternative to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, seems to have failed to make much of an impact at the grassroots level, with the party managing just two per cent of total votes polled in last week's civic polls. The ruling AIADMK romped home in all 10 corporations besides many other local bodies.
Opposition parties in India, including the Congress, Left parties, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), have unanimously hailed the armed forces' "Operation Sindoor", a retaliatory strike against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation, which involved missile and drone strikes, was conducted in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Despite political differences, all parties expressed support for the government and the armed forces, stressing the importance of national unity and integrity in the face of terrorism. While emphasizing the need for diplomatic avenues to prevent further escalation, some parties also called for caution in attributing political credit for the strikes.
The stage is set for the second by-poll of the year in Tamil Nadu at Pudukottai on Tuesday where former friends All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam will fight each other, with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam choosing to skip the contest.
The supporters of former Chief Minister K Palaniswami are confident of the council recommending the choice of former lawmaker K S Thennarasu, already announced, as they are numerically strong.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Jayalalithaa, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi, his son M K Stalin. and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam chief Vijayakanth spent far less than the limit set by the Election Commission for poll-related expenses during the April 13 assembly elections.
For decades the Chennai Central parliamentary constituency has been voting for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and this election may not be any different, reports Rediff.com's S Saraswathi.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has announced the formation of a panel headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to study the relationship between the Union and state governments and ensure state autonomy. The panel, which will submit its interim report in January 2026 and its final report in two years, will examine the transfer of subjects from the State List to the Concurrent List, citing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) as an example of a subject outside state purview.
Senior DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister K Ponmudy has faced criticism, including from his own party, for his purported remarks on Shaivism and Vaishnavism. A video of the minister making the remarks has gone viral, leading to calls for his resignation. The BJP has slammed the minister and demanded his sacking, while DMK MP Kanimozhi also condemned the remarks. This incident follows an earlier controversy where Ponmudy linked north Indians with selling pani puri.
He also accused the Congress of questioning the existence of Ram, evoking a sharp reaction from the Opposition benches.
A statement issued by the parliamentary affairs ministry earlier on Saturday said the all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations.
The entire opposition evicted from Tamil Nadu Assembly following uproar on the issue of lawyers-police clash in Madras High Court.
TVK cadres are worried, the leadership looks weak, and the party is not fully prepared for the 2026 elections, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Samajwadi Party and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam realize the need to highlight popular sentiments against the diesel price hike, reports Kavita Chowdhury
Even a day after the filing of nominations opened for April 13 assembly polls began in Tamil Nadu, the political scene remains unclear, with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam still struggling to put the alliance led by it in shape.
Top Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders, including party chief M Karunanidhi's son MK Stalin and daughter Kanimozhi, besides thousands of party workers today courted arrest across Tamil Nadu as part of a 'fill-the-jail' protest against the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government which has "foisted cases" against its cadres.
Opposition and members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G on Wednesday demanded the ouster of chairperson P C Chacko for being "highly partisan" and asked Speaker Meira Kumar to replace him with a new chief. The JPC has 30 members, including Chacko.
The BJP state unit hailed Vasan and said his advice will be used in the coming days to guide the alliance.
Parts of Rahul Gandhi's speech during the Operation Sindoor discussion in the Lok Sabha were expunged from the record after he criticised the government for trying to protect Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Jayalalithaa will contest the April 13 Tamil Nadu assembly polls from the temple town of Srirangam in Tiruchirapalli district. Her name finds place in the first list of AIADMK candidates released on Wednesday.
Dubbing Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam as an "evil force", All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday accused it of 'conniving' with ally Congress and the United Progressive Alliance government to create hurdles in Tamil Nadu's progress.
The likes of Sengottaiyan can help Vijay navigate it better and faster -- but not necessarily to his goal, which is farther, and can move towards or away from him as well in the weeks and months to come, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala are voting in single-phase for 234 and 140 assembly constituencies respectively.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Member of Parliament Ganeshamurthy and Communist Party of India member of Legislative Assembly M Arumugam were arrested on Sunday along with 1,000 workers of different parties when they tried to cross to Kerala to stage a demonstration to protest that government's move to build a dam across Bhavani river in Chittoor.
The Vaiko-led Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday announced boycotting the June 27 by-poll to Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency in Chennai, against AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he was proud of the manner in which the multi-party delegations presented India's views in various countries on the need to eradicate the menace of terrorism following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.
The government denied granting permission to serve liquor at wedding halls, even as the opposition parties slammed the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's move to dilute the total prohibition policy.
'Captain,' as the actor is called by his admirers, has emerged as a potential alternative to both the DMK and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Besides Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who won from his native Tiruvarur by a huge margin of over 50,000 votes, other ministers who saved the embarrassment to DMK are his son M K Stalin (Kolathur), Durai Murugan (Katpadi), I Periyasamy (Athoor) E V Velu (Tiruvannamalai), Thangam Thennarasu (Tiruchuli), T P M Mohideen Khan (Palayamkottai) Suba Thangavelan (Tiruvadanai) and K Ramachandran (Coonoor).
For the second consecutive day, Lok Sabha on Thursday failed to transact any business as the proceedings remained paralysed, with angry members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam disrupting the House, seeking an international inquiry into atrocities against ethnic Tamils in the island nation.
India on Thursday continued to be evasive on its stand to be adopted on the resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Commission, triggering an angry walk out in Lok Sabha by United Progressive Alliance constituent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which was joined by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-United.