The Tamil Nadu government has been transparent in reporting COVID-19 deaths and no one can hide the information, Chief Minister K Palaniswami said on Thursday, rejecting claims of under-reporting of fatalities. He also asserted there was no community transmission of coronavirus in the state, which has reported 1,500 plus fresh cases for four successive days till Wednesday with the tally crossing the 36,000 mark.
"Peeche peeche aana hai (follow right behind)," was the message from Amit Shah to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam, reports R Rajagopalan. There has been no discussion on the portfolios to be allotted, and it has been left to the discretion of the prime minister, reports R Rajagopalan.
Though another 75 candidates are in the fray, the Elangovan-Thennaruasu fight has become a prestige battle for the DMK and AIADMK, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Arjunan claimed that some persons belonging to the DMK in the guise of public abused him and his mother.
A number of persons fainted after experiencing 'burning sensation' in their throat and chest. Many people who were asleep woke up in panic and scurried out of their homes and alerted neighbours and all of them soon reached the main roads unsure of what to do.
Even as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's general council meeting got underway in Chennai on Monday morning, endorsing Edappadi K Palaniswami as the interim general secretary, the rival O Panneerselvam faction staged a well-planned coup at the party headquarters in Royapettah, central Chennai.
Ironically, rival Tamil Nadu governments expend the most on social welfare schemes, especially targeting women and youth and children, but that money comes only by selling more liquor. There is always the specious plea, which has been peddled very many times in the past, that without licensed liquor, drinkers would go after hooch and there could be more hooch tragedies and hooch deaths. No one is convinced, but no one can dispute it either, comments N Sathiya Moorthy.
Asserting that the dharma yudham is on, Panneerselvam, popularly known as OPS said he and his followers would go to the people to seek justice.
The BJP is now inventing new angles to keep its campaign relevant -- even if it's old wine in an old bottle, which is what the allegation on 'Katchatheevu' is, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Tamil Nadu Toddy Movement had met both Chief Minister Palaniswami and Stalin to seek their intervention in lifting the ban on toddy-tapping and had submitted petitions, but there it remained. So the matter is being taken to the people's court.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Tuesday launched new industrial and MSME policies aimed at providing further impetus to industrial growth by attracting more investments and also offering sops for development in the industrially backward districts.
Promising to positively consider several representations of Christians including site for cemetries, Palaniswami, in an apparent reference to his party's alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party for assembly polls likely in April, said electoral tie-ups were different from ideology.
The big question is: Will her release be a threat to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami? The answer is, while it may give him moments of nervousness, he will not be replaced, say political experts. T E Narasimhan reports.
About 10 lakh cases filed in connection with violation of lockdown norms to prevent spread of COVID-19, and cases over protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act early last year would be withdrawn, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced in Tenkasi on Friday.
The BJP leader said his party was committed to fighting against corruption and it would reflect in its proposed statewide yatra titled En Mann En Makkal (my soil, my people), ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
'Your strike rate is very important when it comes to seat-sharing.'
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's dominant Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) faction on Friday asserted that the system of dual leadership that vested powers on coordinator O Panneerselvam (OPS) and joint coordinator EPS ceased to be in force, a day after the general council stood firm on the single leadership demand.
On various occasions, the leaders of the two faction have maintained that they no longer have differences.
At the same time VK Sasikala, confidante of late party matriarch J Jayalalithaa is staking claim to the late leader's legacy.
Presiding over a Christmas event in Chennai, Panneerselvam, quoting the preaching of Jesus Christ, said if those who commit wrongs reform and return, accepting them back is leadership quality.
Thambidurai, 71, was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals on Tuesday and underwent an angiogram, they said without divulging any further details.
He also launched a strident attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was 'globe-trotting', afraid of facing questions over the Manipur violence.
Temples and other religious places of worship were closed for darshan since March 24, when the state government enforced a total lockdown. However, the government permitted all religious activities including daily puja in the temples by the priests.
Indications are that the DMK combine will win more seats than the AIADMK and BJP, but is facing a tough fight in about half a dozen from the rest, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy of the electoral contest in Tamil Nadu.
If Tamil Nadu voters preferred the DMK combine, it owed to the Modi-Annamalai combo's ideological battle which often crossed the line of political decency and also challenged 'Tamil pride', argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
There is a sudden realisation in party circles that prolonged court cases could damage its standing, both among the cadres and voters, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The AIADMK is convinced that the BJP will remain an electoral burden for a long time to come, beginning the Lok Sabha polls next year, reveals N Sathiya Moorthy.
The man who threw the petrol bomb was immediately overpowered, they said
The Supreme Court on Monday said that it would hear on July 6 a plea filed by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami challenging the Madras high court order staying the passing of any unannounced resolutions in the meeting of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general and executive councils concerning the issue of single leadership of the party.
In a statement in the House, the chief minister said air ambulance service would be started at a cost of Rs 10 crore to transport critical patients to hospitals.
After maintaining that the National Democratic Alliance leadership would announce the chief ministerial candidate, following poll notification, the Saffron party appeared to have made a climbdown.
From the voter-level, traditionally anti-BJP, anti-Hindutva minorities and other secular voters would have an option, especially in the face of the mounting anti-incumbency against the ruling party -- as it happened in the 2001 assembly polls, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Vowing to retain power for the second time in a row, they said such 'anti-people' forces must be taught a lesson again by vanquishing them through hardwork, unity and allegiance to the party.
Utter confusion prevails in the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu.
'He has to listen to his body and his mind and he decided to leave politics.'
In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced new relaxations such as resumption of intra-district transportation in 25 districts after a hiatus of nearly two months. Maharashtra Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta has issued an order notifying extension of the lockdown, an official said.
As results pour in for the four states -- West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam -- and one Union Territory -- Puducherry - here's a glimpse at the leaders who are trailing and those who are leading.
If the idea was to garner AIADMK votes with or without the three faction leaders after the party broke ties with the NDA, it may not work after all, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'One quiver cannot have two different kinds of arrows.' 'The party cannot progress with two leaders.'
The BJP game-plan: Take the top slot, or a close second, either for the 'Lotus' or the larger NDA, if it can and push the AIADMK to the third place, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
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