With the Tamil Nadu electorate having given him an unprecedented mandate that had eluded his father the late M Karunanidhi, Stalin has to prove his worth, ensuring at the same time that the Dravidian drag on the AIADMK's side does not open up space for the BJP to make inroads in the state, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A spectacular aerial display showcasing the prowess and manoeuvrability of the Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft over the iconic Marina sky captivated the hearts of Chennaiites who turned up in thousands on a sultry Sunday and witnessed the IAF's range of new aircraft including Rafale, roar in action.
Rijiju's meeting with Bandyopadhyay came against the backdrop of the Opposition alliance's decision to pull out its members from the panel of chairpersons that will assist Mahtab in conducting the proceedings of the Lok Sabha till the election of the Speaker on Wednesday.
The BJP's strategy seem to be to wean away allies from the Congress, in Dravidian Tamil Nadu, and maybe later in UP, Bihar and elsewhere, though in slow doses, but without wooing them into a new alliance. The idea seems to be only to weaken the INDIA bloc from within -- and leaving it at that, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The DMK will not stop till Tamil Nadu got exemption from the central qualifying test, Stalin said.
Although the company has shown willingness to talk to its workers and accept their key demands, it is CITU that is causing a roadblock to a solution.
The Centre would support the Indian judiciary to be independent, Rijiju said.
The going is not going to be easy for the DMK and its allies in Elections 2024. Despite the seats sweepstake in the 2021 assembly polls, the vote-share difference of 5.6% (DMK's 45.38% versus AIADMK-BJP's 39.72%) is not insurmountable on a bad day, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
"Since the central government had assisted in the treatment of Jayalalithaa, it has a responsibility to unravel the mystery surrounding her death... Therefore, using its authority, it should immediately order a CBI probe into the matter," he said.
A G Perarivalan -- a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, who was released by the Supreme Court on May 18, 2022 -- and his mother Arputhammal met V K Sasikala, former AIADMK chief minister J Jayalalithaa's long-time associate, at her residence at T Nagar in Chennai on Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
Non-BJP chief ministers holding the home portfolios are Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), Naveen Patnaik (Odisha) and MK Stalin (Tamil Nadu).
The decision came after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin recommended an investigation by the National Investigation Agency into the Sunday blast in which an engineer was killed.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders on Saturday met Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah to press the party's demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the June 28 building collapse near Porur, which killed 61 people.
Rahul Gandhi said that instead of getting involved in the Sanatan dharma row, the leaders should focus on the poor and their issues as they have been the party's traditional vote bank, the sources said.
India made history as both its men's and women's teams clinched their first-ever gold medals at the 45th Chess Olympiad. The men's team defeated Slovenia and the women's counterparts overcame Azerbaijan in the final round.
In a first, BJP crossed the 10 per cent vote share-mark in Tamil Nadu and has so far registered a share of 10.21 per cent, though it could not emerge in lead positions anywhere.
The actor was rescued with help from the fire and rescue department of the state government.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Monday adopted a resolution to urge the Centre and the President to fix a timeframe for state governors to approve bills adopted by the respective houses.
A senior functionary of Naam Tamilar Katchi was hacked to death by an unidentified gang in Tamil Nadu's Madurai on Tuesday, and four persons were arrested in connection with the murder, police said.
Dravida Munetra Kazhagam treasurer M K Stalin on Monday urged Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to withdraw cases filed against agitators, including fishermen, in Kudankulam in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling.
Coming as it does only months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Chennai meet could provide the launch pad for a national alternative to the BJP-NDA, and MK Stalin may be given the credit for getting it going, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Mamata Banerjee fended off a spirited challenge by a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal with a landslide victory for her Trinamool Congress on Sunday for a third consecutive term and the saffron party and the Left Democratic Front were poised to form government again in Assam and Kerala respectively while the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam stormed back to power in Tamil Nadu after a gap of 10 years.
For the BJP, Telangana is a sunrise state in the South, while Karnataka is a southern success despite the ups and downs.
Udhayanidhi's ascension in the party is seen as a precursor to him being given key roles in the DMK in future which is now helmed by his 66-year old father Stalin.
Glimpses of Pongal being celebrated in Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai on Sunday, January 15, 2023.
Police later let the legislators off after a brief detention at a marriage hall. Stalin demanded the dismissal of the AIADMK government over the issue of the alleged pay-offs.
While Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has made his national ambitions amply clear, even rechristening his party to aid the process, his Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin insists he is already in the national scene and used his birthday rally on March 1 to not only strongly pitch for the Congress as a force to reckon with in the efforts to dislodge the Narendra Modi-led dispensation at the Centre, but also sought to shoot down the prospects of a Third Front.
The DMK parliamentary party appears to be a house divided, reports R Rajagopalan.
At least 7 women returning from Karnataka were killed in a freak accident in this district on Monday when a stationary van crushed them after being hit from the rear by a lorry, the police said.
Erode MP A Ganeshamurthi, who allegedly attempted suicide recently, died at a Coimbatore hospital on Thursday morning, sources from his party Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the police said.
Tamil Nadu electricity minister was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), official sources said, making him the first minister in the M K Stalin-led government to face such an action from a central agency.
Making light of M K Alagiri's remarks on his "death", Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Treasurer M K Stalin on Wednesday asked party men not to burn effigies of his "elder brother", saying party discipline was supreme.
India's opposition parties have sharply criticized the Union Budget, calling it inadequate to address the country's economic woes and accusing the BJP-led government of using it to woo voters in Bihar and Delhi ahead of upcoming elections. Leaders from the Congress, TMC, DMK, SP, and CPI(M) voiced their disapproval, highlighting concerns over inflation, unemployment, and the lack of substantial measures to support the agricultural sector and the poor. They also criticized the tax cuts for the middle class as insufficient and coming too late after years of high taxes and rising prices.
In focus are the assembly polls in 2026. From a BJP perspective, their attack on the ruling DMK, using the 'Hindutva' card, and Annamalai's targeting of both Dravidian majors on corruption has not worked, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Celebrations had already begun at BJP headquarters before the full announcement of results.
"NCP president Sharad Pawar, Loktantrik Janata Dal president Sharad Yadav, DMK chief MK Stalin, Bihar's former deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, SP president Akhilesh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal among other opposition leaders will attend the oath-taking ceremony in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh on December 17," said well-placed sources.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa was accorded a rousing reception upon his arrival at the airport in Chennai on Wednesday.
Tejashwi Yadav said that could not have a word with Telangana CM but rest all leaders are coming.
The hashtag was trending on Twitter on Monday following Ravi's face-off with the state government in the Assembly where Stalin, also president of the ruling DMK piloted a resolution against the Governor's deviation from his customary address to the Legislature and retain the draft prepared by his government.
The real battle for NEET abolition can take much more time and energy, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
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