In what can be called as a major hint towards sewing up an unprecedented merger between two warring factions, the Sasikala and the O Panneerselvam groups of the All Anna India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam met on late Monday night in Chennai.
'Who has given them the right to decide that I am not a Hindu like them'
Election for the post of Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker will take place on Wednesday and the nomination of candidate is slated for Tuesday.
Sasikala, clad in a light green saree with a pink border, greeted supporters with folded hands. She rode to the party office in the car used by Jayalalithaa.
The speaker had suspended 45 members last week for unruly behaviour.
He also launched 70-lakh tree sapling planting drive to commemorate the 70th birth anniversary celebrations of late Jayalalithaa.
"It is all your imagination and guess work," a senior leader said when asked about reports of Sasikala taking over from Chief Minister O Panneerselvam.
The CM, along with Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai, met the PM at his office in Parliament House.
Strongly defending former chief minister and party supremo Jayalalithaa's aide V K Sasikala, ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday said there is nothing wrong in its leaders calling on her as she is a key member and asserted a person would soon be elected to the top post of General Secretary.
Panneerselvam also wanted withdrawal of affidavits submitted to the Election Commission declaring Sasikala and Dinakaran as party general secretary and deputy general secretary, respectively.
The much-touted Food Security Bill, which proposes to give the country's three-fourth population the right to highly-subsidised food, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, with the government rejecting apprehensions that it would impinge upon the rights of states.
The plight of Sri Lankan Tamils on Monday found an echo in the Lok Sabha with All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam members seeking to embarrass a visiting Lankan Parliamentary delegation by raising slogans which was denounced by Speaker Meira Kumar.
On the face of it, the first round has gone to Edappadi K Palaniswami. Not only has he been named chief ministerial candidate, that too by his one-time bete noire Panneerselvam, he also gets one member more in the steering committee than OPS. He can now hope to wean away one or more members of the OPS team in the steering committee just as he had done with other leaders in the latter's camp, post-reunification. That was also OPS's concern, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Scindia, who is now with the BJP and took oath as a member from Madhya Pradesh, greeted his bete noire before taking oath. Scindia and Singh had differences that led to Scindia quitting the Congress. Scindia also greeted Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad.
The government on Tuesday conceded the opposition demand for having 30 members in the Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the 2G spectrum issue, giving up its earlier plan for a 21-member panel to accommodate smaller parties like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, sources said.
India on Monday strongly condemned the "derogatory" article against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa appearing in the Sri Lankan defence ministry website, as the controversy rocked Parliament with an agitated All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam demanding a resolution to denounce it.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief VK Sasikala has met visitors 12 times in a month at the Parappana Agrahara central jail in Bengaluru.
Some members held placards of news reports about unemployment figures.
Describing party chief Jayalalithaa as a "very powerful and strong political leader", AIADMK leader M Thambidurai said she will get a "full majority" to rule the state and "there is no point" in forming a coalition government.
Eight-term member Sumitra Mahajan was on Friday unanimously elected Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha, becoming the second woman presiding officer of the Lower House after her predecessor Meira Kumar.
A delegation of AIADMK MPs on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asking him to direct the Tamil Nadu government to augment security to their leader J Jayalalithaa in the wake of death threats to her.
Reports of alleged influence by some corporate lobbies on allocation of 2G spectrum, was on Wednesday vociferously raised in both House of Parliament, leading to adjournment of Rajya Sabha twice.
... if high oil prices persist or stock prices correct sharply.
From being the third largest party in the outgoing Lok Sabha with 37 seats, the AIADMK has to now contend with single digit tally, pushed to the third spot behind arch rival DMK and Congress despite fighting the polls as part of a "mega alliance" with parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Jaya has been hospitalised since September 22, is interacting and progressing gradually.
Palaniswami said, "I will take up with PM Narendra Modi the demands put forward by the farmers. I urge them to end this protest."
One of the main missions of the key functionary of the banned LTTE, who was arrested along with seven Sri Lankan nationals in Chennai on Thursday, was to kidnap rival group member and Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) leader Varadaraja Perumal and his family next month.
Protests were held across Tamil Nadu with raising of slogans-- "Vendum Vendum Kudineer Vendum" (we want water) and "Edappadi Arasai Kandikirom" (we condemn chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy's government).
Party spokesperson said while Jaya was the "conscience" of her mentor M G Ramachandran, Sasikala was, likewise, her "conscience."
Karunanidhi, 94, died at the Kauvery hospital on Tuesday following prolonged illness.
OPS said Jayalalithaa had turned the AIADMK into 'an iron fortress which cannot be shaken by anyone'.
Interlinking of rivers, retrieval of Katchatheevu island and inclusion of fishermen in the Scheduled Tribes list are also listed in the memorandum.
Amid furore created by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam members in Parliament for the second day running, the government on Tuesday admitted that a Supreme Court collegium during the United Progressive Alliance rule had recommended extension of a judge in Tamil Nadu who was under corruption cloud.
The TDP and the YSR Congress forced brief adjournments of Lok Sabha proceedings demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh.
From being compared to her 'elder sister' in every which way, to winning an election as a legislator, to awaiting the Supreme Court's verdict, the AIADMK leader has several challenges awaiting her.
On the first day of winter session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to the Opposition.
At a time when many Lok Sabha candidates are declaring assets worth crores, 14 candidates in the poll fray in Tamil Nadu, mostly independents, have declared zero assets. They are among 845 candidates of well-established political entities, among whom are 14 contestants with high liabilities of more than Rs five crore, as per an analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms-Tamil Nadu Election Watch.
Sasikala appeared in front of supporters in a dark green sari, a colour greatly favoured by Jayalalithaa.
A Ganesh Nadar captures the mood and scenes from outside the hall in Vaanagaram where Sasikala was appointed as the new party chief.
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