The new entrants in Tamil Nadu politics, actor-turned-politicians Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, have decided to stay away from the elections, reports T E Narasimhan.
The fracas between Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam on Monday over who will be projected as the CM candidate in next year's assembly polls not only points to a possibility of another vertical split in Tamil Nadu's ruling party but will also come as sweet music for the opposition DMK which in the past stood to gain from the AIADMK's squabbles, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
We don't have confidence in the chief minister, the MLAs said.
At a time when investors are taking a "wait and watch" approach on fresh investment, Tamil Nadu in the past 10 months has signed 63 MoUs, enabling investment worth Rs 19,083 crore. After Palaniswami took over as chief minister in February 2017, cumulative FDI rose by Rs 46,427 crore from Rs 133 trillion (April 2000 to March 2017) to Rs 180 trillion by June this year. Thanks to the Tamil Nadu Business Facilitation Act, 2018, and the single window for applying and getting clearance for doing business, the ease of business issue has been addressed.
23 of the DMK's 24 candidates are crorepatis!
The Palaniswami camp on Friday got a jolt when one of its MLAs R Natraj, a former state DGP, said that he would vote against the chief minister's motion of confidence.
The deaths brought back the focus on NEET in the state, with all political parties but for the BJP opposed to the qualifying exam.
'They are going to be clubbed with the Lok Sabha elections which are six months away.' 'These people who are ruling Tamil Nadu know very well that they cannot win another election.'
She suffered serious head injuries and died while being taken to a hospital.
OPS said he was being "forced" to come up with such an announcement.
For the current woes of the state to end, in city after city, town after town, village after village, unauthorised constructions have to be removed, no questions asked, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Will just sit back and see, said Dinakaran over AIADMK merger.
'The last four years was not Dravidian rule, it was BJP rule by proxy.'
Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said the intention behind the notification was not to harm any particular group.
The BJP has been pushing the two AIADMK groups to merge and then get the Sasikala clan out of the party and government.
The AIADMK's staying power is not in question, but it has to regain the winning streak. That will require its leaders and leadership to re-wire themselves, to be able to re-think situations in ways different from what they had been accustomed to, suggests Sathiya Moorthy.
The real battle for NEET abolition can take much more time and energy, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu minister Sellur K Raju said the death of Amma was a huge loss.
Finance Minister P T R Palanivel Thiagarajan has proclaimed his determination to set Tamil Nadu's fiscal house in order in five years, and Friday will show how he plans to go about it when he rises to present the Stalin government's maiden budget, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'I expect normalcy to return in one or two days,' says Tuticorin's new Collector Sandeep Nandur.
On his arrival, Xi will be welcomed by traditional peformances including 'tappu' folk drum art display at the airport by about 500 artistes.
The special package assistance would be used to augment irrigation structures in drought-prone areas to address the agrarian distress and drinking water crisis.
The SC said if the high court does not dispose of the pending case regarding allocation of symbol within four weeks then the EC may proceed as per the March 9, 2018 order.
'We requested controlled release of water without waiting for the water level in the reservoir to reach its full level.'
His comments come a day after state Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar claimed that 111 MLAs had attended the meet convened by the chief minister.
From children to the elderly, common people to VIPs, all came out in balconies, lawns and terrace of their homes as the clock struck five, following an appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to show gratitude to doctors, paramedics, police and other personnel associated with essential services when the country was observing an unprecedented 'Janta Curfew' on Sunday to check the spread of the virus.
'The BJP will be the ruling party.'
The announcement was part of late All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa's promise to usher in prohibition in the state in a phased manner, Palaniswami said in his first formal press conference since his elevation as chief minister last week.
Palaniswami, Tamil Nadu's new CM was among the senior ministers who had proximity to Jayalalithaa.
Dinakaran has been re-inducted and elevated to the position of deputy general secretary.
Indications are that Modi will have words of encouragement for Stalin, and the meeting is likely to be much less acrimonious than critics of either would want it to be. notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The salary and allowances of MLAs has been raised from Rs 55,000 to Rs 1.05 lakh a month.
Dinakaran said the value of his movable and immovable assets stood at Rs 74,17,807 -- immovable assets worth Rs 57.44 lakh and movable assets worth were Rs 16.73 lakh.
'You know the difference between being brought up by a mother and a step-mother?' 'As long as Amma was there we had nothing to fear. Now the step-mother is there and we are on the streets.'
SC keeps in abeyance a Delhi high court order on allotment of symbol.
The driver of the lorry apparently lost control after the tyre burst and jumped the median and collided with the oncoming passenger bus, police said. The driver Hemaraj, a native of Ernakulam, has been arrested.
The CRPF said Kumar was under treatment at a force hospital in Hyderabad since February 12 for 'schizophrenia'.
Four police personnel -- a woman joint commissioner, two women constables and a sub-inspector -- were injured in stone-pelting, the police said, even as reports emerged that some protesters were also hurt.
Even as the actor-turned-politician said that it was just 'a courtesy call', speculation about a future alliance between them has been doing the rounds in the national capital, says R Rajagopalan.
DMK candidate Kathir Anand defeated All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam nominee AC Shanmugham in the bypoll by a narrow margin of 8,141 votes.
