The Sri Lankan government had recently announced a 48-hour ceasefire solely due to the efforts of the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre, the Congress party said in the Tamil Nadu assembly on Tuesday.
Amid tight security, polling for the by-election to the Tamil Nadu Assembly from Tirumangalam constituency began on a peaceful note with about 15 per cent of the total 1.55 lakh electorate, exercising their votes by 1000 hrs, officials said.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly session, beginning Wednesday, could well turn out to be its last at the 17th century Fort St. George as the 58-year-old Legislature would shortly be moving to its upcoming Rs 425-crore complex.
Dinakaran met Sasikala for the first time after her loyalist E K Palaniswami won the vote of confidence in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on February 18.
Justice K Suguna, while granting the interim stay, also ordered issue of notice, returnable by four weeks, to the secretary, State Legislative Assembly and chairman, Committee of Privileges and Stalin.
As the deadline for withdrawal of nominations for the Rajya Sabha biennial polls ended on Wednesday evening, legislative secretaries of the respective states announced its elected members. There were no surprises, with most seats assigned to the nominees unopposed.
Clad in a white shirt and black pant, the actor extended his new year greetings and apprised the DMK president and his aides of his political plunge.
The party did not formally assign any reason for relieving him from the position.
The party said though actor-turned-politician Vijaykant, who founded the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, speaks about people's problems, his economic policies were not known. The Pattali Makkal Katchi was also raising a lot of people's problems
The move of expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader V K Sasikala to stay away from politics has fuelled various theories on her decision while the ruling party confined itself to poll related work like holding interview for ticketaspirants.
The Bill, which will replace an ordinance promulgated last month, was unanimously passed by voice vote amidst thumping of desks by members of the House. The Bill sought to provide three-and-a-half per cent reservation each to Muslims and Christians within the 30 per cent reservation provided for backward classes as per a law enacted in 1994.
MLAs from the Opposition AIADMK were suspended for the rest of the monsoon session when they created a ruckus in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday. The MLAs shouted slogans and created chaotic scenes when Tamil Nadu local administration minister M K Stalin's raised a privilege issue in the state assembly against AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa. Stalin's speech was hardly audible as AIADMK members kept on shouting slogans and creating chaotic scenes.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday described Prime Minister Narendra Modi a 'formidable enemy' who 'crushed' his opponents and vowed to send him to political oblivion by following the path of love and non-violence.
Delivering his customary address to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Governor S S Barnala said about 100 amendments have been made so far to the Constitution to take care of emerging unavoidable needs.
Rahul Gandhi treated teachers from Kanyakumari to a 'special Delhi dinner' and won their hearts.
President Pranab Mukherjee created a flutter in the Congress party by agreeing to meet 40 Congress MLAs from Andhra Pradesh.
Stalin, 68, was contesting as the chief ministerial candidate for the first time during these polls. He was elected unopposed as the DMK chief in August 2018, after the death of his father, a post that Karunanidhi held for 49 years. That didn't come as a surprise to anyone, as during his lifetime, Karunanidhi, on multiple occasions made his preference for his successor abundantly clear and systematically groomed him for the job.
According to rough figures available, about 65 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise.
Members of the chief minister's family, including his elder son M K Azhagiri in the eye of a political storm following the attack on the Dinakaran office at Madurai, were seen in the gallery.
Leader of the House K Anbazhagan moved the resolution seeking to suspend A K Bose who represents Thiruparakundram constituency for Thursday's incident in the House.
This Ordinance was replaced by an Act later. However, the AIADMK government decided to repeal the law and an Ordinance for this was promulgated on May 18, 2004.
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Ten senior DMDK functionaries on Tuesday raised a banner of revolt against the party high command's decision to align with the PWF for the May 16 assembly polls, virtually giving an ultimatum to Vijayakanth to reverse his decision by noon on Wednesday.
He would concentrate on the party's campaign work all over the state.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will contest 182 of 234 seats in the May 8 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, party supremo Jayalalithaa announced in Chennai Friday.
He was 64 and is survived by his wife, four sons and five daughters.
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has given his assent to a Bill envisaging 7.5 per cent reservation to government school students who have cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test in admission to medical courses.
The AIADMK had faced bigger defeats in the past and had recovered to achieve great victories, she said in a statement in Chennai reacting to the victory of DMK's Ghouse Basha by an impressive margin.
The Bills adopted in 2017 for the same purpose during the AIADMK regime did not get the President's assent.
ADMK MLA Srinivasan will provide those below the poverty line with insurance cover. \n\n
The Vaiko-led Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday announced boycotting the June 27 by-poll to Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency in Chennai, against AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa.
'We have done nothing wrong and I don't understand why they are sending a notice'
The Congress MP from Sivaganga also slammed the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance and said the people of Tamil Nadu do not want a government which has any "stain, scent or shadow" of the BJP as its 'Hindi-Hindutva' agenda "irritates" them.
CBI sources said Jayalalithaa received 89 demand drafts worth Rs 2 crore drawn on various banks in Tamil Nadu and purchased in the names of 57 people, besides Rs 15 lakh in cash.
'What is to prevent the speaker of the assembly finding somebody guilty and sentencing to death and immediately ordering execution through a warrant by the speaker?' asks The Hindu Editor-in-Chief N Ram.
Lok Janshakti Party Saturday said it would go it alone in the May 8 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls and contest from about 100 constituencies.
The Congress secured the maximum of 48 seats.
In the last Lok Sabha elections, Congress won all 10 of the seats it contested.
With Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam joining hands with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, rumours had it that DMDK will follow suit.
DMK president M Karunanidhi on Monday said the AIADMK's victory in the byelections to the Tamil Nadu assembly from Kancheepuram and Gummidipoondi was due to 'misuse of official machinery'.
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