BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai and many party functionaries were detained by police in Chennai on Monday ahead of a protest against alleged irregularities in state-run liquor retailer TASMAC. The BJP had planned to picket the TASMAC headquarters over alleged Rs 1,000 crore irregularities, as claimed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Annamalai was detained near his house along with his supporters, and senior party leaders including Tamilisai Soundararajan were placed "under house arrest" by the police. The ED had earlier said it found "multiple irregularities" in TASMAC operations, including "manipulation" in tender processes and "unaccounted" cash transactions worth Rs 1,000 crore.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin did not attend the traditional 'At Home' reception hosted by Governor R N Ravi on Republic Day. Stalin instead visited Madurai to participate in events celebrating the cancellation of the Centre's tungsten mining initiative. The Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues boycotted the event, following suit with the ruling DMK's allies, including the Congress party. Governor Ravi, who has been critical of the DMK regime, had targeted the Stalin-led government in his Republic Day Eve address, alleging that many state-run universities in Tamil Nadu were in a dire financial crisis. In Madurai, CM Stalin, recalling his assurance that tungsten mining would not be allowed while he remained in office, said the village elders visited him in Chennai and invited him for the felicitation function. He said rather than praising him, it is the people who should be greeted, thanked and felicitated. The union government recently announced its decision to annul the auctioning of the mining rights.
Popular Youtuber Savukku Shankar, known for his criticism of the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, had his residence targeted by a group of individuals who allegedly dumped sewage and human faeces inside. The incident has sparked outrage with opposition leaders condemning the act and demanding swift action. Shankar alleges the attack was orchestrated by a top Tamil Nadu Congress Committee leader and a police official, citing a prior corruption expose he made. The police are investigating the incident.
He is the fourth men's cricketer to be invited for the ceremony after Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
Shah Rukh Khan joined the jubilant KKR players and support staff on the field, high-fiving them and sharing emotional embraces after their thrilling win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
In several places, from roof-tops and flyovers, people showered petals and garlands on the truck.
BJP workers depend on Annamalai's popularity to emerge victorious. He has has made 100 promises to be fulfilled in 500 days and assurances include cleaning up rivers, an international airport and food vans named after former Chief Minister K Kamaraj.
While there was a brief respite from the incessant downpour on Tuesday, collaborative efforts from the defence, national, and state disaster response forces took the lead in executing rescue and relief operations.
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.
'In Tamil Nadu we head the NDA, the BJP is a junior partner.' 'As long as they know that, all will be well.'
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu has slapped a legal notice on state Bharatiya Janata Party chief K Annamalai over his graft allegations against the party, its president and Chief Minister M K Stalin, and demanded an apology and damages to the tune of Rs 500 crore.
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'I was invited to join the BJP, and I felt respected when they called me.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Tamil Nadu unit on Thursday said Ram Setu should not be "affected at any cost" and demanded that the multi-million crore rupees Sethusamudram project be implemented without demolishing the structure.
BJP veterans whom K Annamalai has reportedly sidelined are upset over his 'immature' way of handling allies, reveals N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Janata party will release its manifesto on April 14.
The partys state election committee meeting, later this month, will decide on whether to contest the by-polls alone or enter into a pact with other parties.
Dr Tamilisai Soundarajan has nominated Prime Minister Modi for launching the world's largest healthcare scheme Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana - 'Ayushman Bharat' and also appealed to people to join her in nominating the prime minister.
Vellore is one of the two seats that the DMK alliance won by the narrowest of margins in 2019. For the DMK's vote-score to be so low in a constituency with a substantial Muslim population has not missed the BJP strategists' eyes, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
At the end of the day, Stalin expressing solidarity with an arrested colleague is one thing, especially if he too felt that the minister had been wronged, but for him to retain the person in office sets a bad precedent, which would not go unnoticed by voters, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Neither the ruling DMK nor the fractured AIADMK Opposition anticipated that an assembly by-election would put them both to test, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
If Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai bought it in 2015, did he get prior approval from the Union home ministry, and did he include it in his annual wealth returns, sections of the media want to know. N Sathiya Moorthy on the curious case of the 'Rafale' watch.
'Sometimes we use political pressure and sometimes political acumen to get what we want.'
'Tamil Nadu is a state of temples, it's a holy land. People don't seem to realise that.'
Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to 68-year old Stalin, for whom this would be the first stint as CM
The burial ceremony was performed in the presence of Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi, the junior pontiff of the Mutt and some close family relatives of the late seer.
A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com recalls how Kanyakumari MP H Vasanthakumar, the first parliamentarin to die of Covid-related complications, would address his constituents by their names, making it a point to ask after their work and family.
AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam is said to be upset at his son Raveendranath Kumar, a Lok Sabha MP, being denied a ministerial chance for a second time in a row, beginning with the formation of Modi 2.0 in 2019, reveals N Sathiya Moorthy.
'In the last three to four months the BJP vote share in Tamil Nadu, which was 2.86% in 2016, has gone up to about 5%-6%.' 'The AIADMK will lose the minority votes and others who don't like the BJP and Modi.' 'The AIADMK decided to take the risk to get the 5%-6% votes that the BJP will bring in.'
The candidate is from the DMK's ruling family, and the sky is the limit -- for both expenses and expectations.
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