In a major organisational revamp, the Congress on Friday appointed former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel as general secretary in-charge of Punjab and Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain as general secretary for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The 70-year old first time MP, and working president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, who was admitted to Apollo Hospitals on August 10 after he tested positive for coronavirus, succumbed to the illness on Friday.
Tagging a tweet on the organisational changes by the party in Tamil Nadu, Karti Chidambaram tweeted, "These jumbo committees serve no purpose. 32 VP, 57 GS, 104 Secretaries. None will have any authority which means no accountability."
Various opposition leaders in Tamil Nadu welcomed Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's conviction by a Bangalore special court in the disproportionate assets case and urged police to maintain law and order.
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.
The meeting was attended by CMs of Kerala, Punjab and Telangana -- Pinarayi Vijayan, Bhagwant Manna and A Revanth Reddy, Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar, and senior BRS leader KT Ramarao among others.
BJP MP and actor Ravi Kishan has been awarded the Sansad Ratna for his outstanding performance in the Lok Sabha, becoming the first actor-turned-politician to receive the honour.
The pendant bore the brunt. But for the pendant with a picture of Lord Ram, the stab would have been fatal for the Congress leader, he added.
By naming a sworn swayamsevak for vice president, the Modi-Shah duo have sent out a clear and positive message to Nagpur, where the RSS headquarters is located, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Wednesday launched the first election campaign at his birth place Thiruvaroor in Tamil Nadu, which many believed was a lackluster show.
The first round of talks were described as "cordial" by Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K V Thangkabalu, who is part of the five-member DMK panel which has Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin among other members.
The stage is set for a direct contest between NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy for the September 9 vice-presidential election. Nominations have been scrutinized and accepted.
'In my 26 years at Raj Bhavan, working with more than ten governors, I can tell you C P Radhakrishnan Sir stands out.'
To a question on switching loyalties between one party to another, she said she would stay put with the BJP for all time.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Congress on Wednesday released the second list of office-bearers and executive committee members of its Tamil Nadu unit, prominent among them being Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
The work on seat sharing with other allies will begin from Thursday, he told reporters.
Joining leaders of various political parties in Tamil Nadu voicing their concern over training of Sri Lankan airmen, Union Minister G K Vasan on Friday said the move was "unacceptable and regrettable". Noting that the reports about imparting training to Sri Lankan airmen was a "big concern", Vasan said Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president B S Gnanadesikan had already taken up the issue with central ministers.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday challenged Home Minister Amit Shah to debate with him on his three press conferences in which the Congress leader alleged 'vote chori' by the Bharatiya Janata Party in collusion with the Election Commission.
It was decided by Tamil Nadu Congress to push for at least 45 seats and in a worst case scenario climb down a few seats and conclude the deal and it has worked out as was expected.
The BJP-led government's decision to grant Kunbi status to individuals from the Maratha community has opened a Pandora's box.
We did not take part in the meeting since our chief was accused of violating coalition dharma, DMK said.
The stage is set for a direct contest between NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy for the vice-presidential election. The BJP-led alliance has a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
'Karur could still impact Jana Nayagan's box-office success if Vijay and the TVK do not get their act together,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
This article traces the history of the DMK's fight for state autonomy, beginning with C.N. Annadurai's advocacy in the 1960s and culminating in M. Karunanidhi's resolution in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 1974. The article highlights the key figures involved, the arguments presented, and the impact of the Rajamannar Committee Report.
Vijay, despite the loud message from his delayed arrival at the road-show/stampede venue, and more so his continued inaccessibility for fans-turned-cadres after graduating from a super-star to a political party leader with electoral ambitions, refuses to change. Or, so it seems, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Several petitions were filed in the apex court challenging the Act, contending that it was discriminatory towards the Muslim community and violated their fundamental rights.
Jayanthi Natrajan, the Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu, contradicted the statement of Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Karunanidhi that the time has come to make Rahul Gandhi the prime minister. "I would like to put it on record that Dr Manmohan Singh and his team have done excellent work. There is no vacancy for the post of prime minister," she said at her first press conference as AICC spokesperson.
Stalin's comments came two days after Naidu said there was a need to manage the population in Andhra Pradesh given there will be an increase in the aging population.
Replying to a question on reports of the BJP demanding 50 seats from the ruling AIADMK, Murugan said a statement on the continuation of the alliance was made by the party's top leaders O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami two days ago.
Medical seats for under-graduates and post-graduates remaining vacant in the NEET era, together with the Centre 'freezing' the number of medical colleges and seats in (Dravidian) Tamil Nadu and the launch of the PM's 'Vishwakarma Scheme' for the nation's craftsmen, are all seen as a bid to further reverse the state's progressive socio-economic agenda of and its achievements of the past hundred-plus years, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
There is a proposal from the BJP camp that they would resort to a proportion-based increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for individual states, based on what they now have. On the face of it, this sounds like a fine argument that those demanding a 'freeze' now cannot oppose without reasons and justification, avers N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee on Friday said it does not agree with Chief Minister MK Stalin demanding the Centre to set free the seven Rajiv Gandhi assassination case life convicts and denounced what it called 'political pressure.'
'I don't want to be called a new Indian voter when I am an old Indian voter.'
The Tamil Nadu Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 2024, which shall come into force on such date as notified by the government, aims to completely eradicate the menace of illicit liquor from the state.
Sowmiya Anbumani is the president of Pasumai Thayagam, an NGO involved in conservation of nature.
Farmers organisations and pro-Kannada organisations staged protests in Mysuru, Mandya, Bengaluru and other parts expressing their anger and urging the state government not to release water to Tamil Nadu.
Former Kerala minister M A Baby was elected as the CPI(M) general secretary at the 24th party congress in Madurai. Baby, who was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1998, has been a member of the Politburo since 2012. He succeeds Sitaram Yechury, who passed away last year.
Toughening his stance against the Congress high command, former Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan gave ample indications of breaking away from the party and reviving the erstwhile Tamil Maanila Congress.
'When I said the Gandhi family had to step aside, it was because we have consistently seen that the public has not accepted them.'
