Senior DMK leader TKS Elangovan accused the BJP of nominating Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan for Vice President for electoral gains in Tamil Nadu. AIADMK's Edappadi K Palaniswami urged support for Radhakrishnan, while other leaders offered mixed reactions.
The Election Commission on Friday ruled out postponing the April 13 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu as demanded by major political parties, including the Opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, saying every issue was factored in before announcing the poll schedule.
TVK chief Vijay was questioned by the CBI for six hours in connection with the Karur stampede case. The investigation is ongoing, with the CBI gathering evidence and analyzing statements to determine responsibility.
This time, five states, including Tamil Nadu, have requested the Centre to delay the pay hikes.
Ravi, shifted from Nagaland, said he saw his new role more as an opportunity than a challenge.
The mastermind behind smuggling operations for the LTTE and a senior political activist of the organisation, Krishnaneethan, was arrested on Monday at Uchapatti refugee camp near Madurai in Tamil Nadu, police said.
The Congress party has strongly criticized the Union Budget, calling it 'lacklustre' and 'disappointing,' claiming it fails to address the needs of farmers, unemployed youth, and other key sectors.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday admitted that 'as of now, some assurances such as getting NEET scrapped', could not be fulfilled.
Yuvaraj, accused of killing a Dalit youth in Tamil Nadu, has been externed in Tirunelveli where A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com met him.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has approached the Supreme Court, contesting the legality of the Election Commission's order for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, alleging it is arbitrary and unconstitutional.
'When you don't care about the lives of the people who make you, who you are, then you don't deserve their support.'
M Karunanidhi was a masterful practitioner of modern-day politics, wielding considerable influence beyond his own state, in the corridors of power in New Delhi, for a long time and sewing up alliances with both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Farmers and opposition parties in Tamil Nadu on Monday staged rail roko agitation at various places in the state demanding the Centre to constitute the Cauvery Management Board immediately.
Tamil Nadu is set to protest against the National Education Policy (NEP) on February 18, with the ruling DMK and its allies announcing a demonstration. The state government has been at odds with the Centre over the implementation of the NEP and the three-language formula proposed in the policy. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan dismissed the state's opposition as "politics" and asserted that the Centre is committed to implementing the NEP across the country. The DMK, however, accused the Centre of encroaching on the state's rights and using the office of the Governor to push the NEP.
While acknowledging that they needed strong allies for a chance in the assembly polls, AIADMK cadres seemingly prefer actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to the BJP, owing to the latter's 'communal agenda' and consequent hardline Hindutva image, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Caste-based violence is on the rise in Tamil Nadu, but the state government stays in denial, says R Ramasubramanian
'Nobody explained why. After that there was panic buying, there was hoarding -- and then nothing reached us.'
In a federal democracy, the people must have a say (indirect or direct) in an office as important as that of governor. Especially in a governor who can now effectively veto a bill by simply refusing to sign it, argues Harishchandra.
Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list commenced in nine states and three Union territories on Tuesday, amid objections from several parties with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading the anti-SIR offensive in West Bengal with a rally in Kolkata and alleging 'silent, invisible rigging' through the exercise.
The farmers, who have been staging a protest for the past 41 days demanding a Rs-40,000 crore drought relief package, farm loan waiver and setting up of the Cauvery Management Board by the Centre
The Supreme Court turned down Tamil Nadu government's plea to modify its order suspending a one-man enquiry commission and the SIT to look into the Karur stampede. The court also took a critical view of a report filed by the Madras High Court registrar general.
The assembly polls in the state have shown that the GenNext voters want change -- not necessarily of leaderships but of their behaviour, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'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.
Whether it was in the company of superstars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan -- or, on rare occasions with both together, among others -- Saravanan's demeanour would stand out, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The ruling NDA alliance has secured a majority in the Rajya Sabha elections, winning key seats in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana, while other candidates were elected unopposed across multiple states. The elections were marked by cross-voting allegations and political maneuvering.
In its resolve to put an end to the "colonial mindset" of elite clubs and others in banning entry of people wearing traditional attire "dhoti", Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday introduced a bill in the state assembly, which seeks to make such practices a cognisable offence.
Flowing from an inadequate understanding of Tamil history and politics is an urban elitist mindset that does not seem to be able to touch and feel the real angst of the larger Tamil-speaking masses, cutting across the social and economic status of the individual, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Dr Vasudevan Maitreyan, was virtually the face of the AIADMK in New Delhi since February 2002, finds himself ignored by the current leadership.
The man, identified as Suraj, a native of Maharashtra and residing in Salem, collapsed after complaining of chest pain. According to the police, he had gone to see Vijay.
'Vijay is badly politically wounded.'
Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, with strong roots in the RSS and BJP, has been elected as the 15th Vice President of India. His rich political and administrative experience will be valuable as the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.
The threat to Sasikala won't come from the Tamil Nadu chief minister or New Delhi, but from her 20-plus kin, reports R Rajagopalan.
The never-before performance, a clean sweep by the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa-headed party coming on a day when she completed three years in office, decimated her opponents, particularly arch-rival DMK, and put her in the driver's seat for the assembly polls due exactly two years from now
The answer seems to be 'yes' since party veterans themselves are questioning the move in the backdrop of the April 24 Lok Sabha polls, even as their hopes of a possible tie-up with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam seem to have dashed with its chief M Karunanidhi virtually shutting the door despite extending an olive branch.
Former Union minister GK Vasan's decision to revolt and float a separate outfit in Tamil Nadu serves as a deadly blow to the Grand Old Party, which is already struggling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Everybody would like the Sri Lankan Tamils to live in peace first and with equal right to the Sinhalese. Even I, a vehement critic of the LTTE and also very much against the Centre intervening the military action against the LTTE, have been saying that the Indo-Sri Lankan accord must be implemented in full by Sri Lanka, says political analyst Cho Ramaswamy.
The EC's actions remain to be seen on 'money-hoarding and transportation' for poll-time use. The question remains if the polity in the state would push the EC so far as to use the countermanding option. Even then EC would have to push its constitutional powers to find a way to prevent 'money-power' in the state's elections, says N Sathiya Moorthy
The DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tensions between Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and the Uttar Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have drawn national attention in recent months.