The countdown to the elections in Tamil Nadu has begun. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M Karunanidhi arrived with his daughter Kanimozhi and a few cabinet colleagues in Delhi on Sunday on a three-day visit to discuss seat-sharing with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
After the sacking of Telecom Minister and DMK leader A Raja, the relation between the two parties were a little strained. Even during the Cabinet reshuffle, the Congress didn't give the Telecom portfolio back to the DMK. However, both the parties have maintained that there is no trouble between them and the alliance is intact.
The state assembly elections are slated for May in Tamil Nadu.
The Congress got 48 seats during the 2006 assembly polls in Tamil Nadu. Now, the party is expected to demand more including share in power if the DMK is voted back to power.
The DMK chief on Sunday also confirmed that the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), will be a part of the DMK led alliance for the forthcoming elections.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister will also raise the issue of the two Indian fishermen who were allegedly killed by Sri Lankan Navy, with the Prime Minister and ask him to tell Colombo not to resort to firing. (Read: Karunanidhi to take up killing of fishermen with PM)
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Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
PM is weak and ineffective, says Jaya
Targeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue of continued attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen allegedly by Sri Lankan Navy, AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday described him as "weak and ineffective" and asked him to quit if "doesn't know what to do".
After meeting the family members of a fisherman who was brutally killed in the latest attack off Kodiakarai coast in the district, Jayalalithaa said, "the Indian government is weak. The Prime Minister is weak and ineffective."
Since the prime minister was "ineffective", the Sri Lankan Navy had the audacity to kill Indian fishermen, she alleged.
"India is one among the biggest nations in the world with a mighty Armed Force. But, the tiny Sri Lanka is playing with the lives of Indian fishermen. This is happening only because the Central government is very weak," she told reporters outside the house of N Jayakumar, who was allegedly dragged into sea waters with a rope tied to his neck resulting in his death last week.
Jayalalithaa described as "illegal" the ceding of Katchatheevu, an islet, to Sri Lanka in 1974 by India by way of a pact saying it was not ratified by the Parliament.
Retrieval of Katchatheevu was the only solution to end the sufferings of Tamil Nadu fishermen, she said.
Jayalalithaa accused the DMK government of not showing any interest in safeguarding the lives of the fishermen. "The DMK is interested only in the welfare of a single family. Law and order is deteriorating in the state and people feel very insecure," she claimed.
Earlier, Jayalalithaa, who arrived at Vedaranyam by a helicopter, reached the Pushpanavam village by road.
She comforted the fisherman's family members and presented a cash relief of Rs one lakh to his wife Murugeswari, assuring all help, including assistance for the education of her two girl children.
She also visited the houses of the two injured fishermen and enquired about their health.
Two fishermen from the state were killed allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy in a span of 10 days following which India lodged a strong protest with the island nation and sought strong action to end such incidents.
Sri Lanka has denied its Navy was involved in the attacks.
Source: expressbuzz.com
After meeting the family members of a fisherman who was brutally killed in the latest attack off Kodiakarai coast in the district, Jayalalithaa said, "the Indian government is weak. The Prime Minister is weak and ineffective."
Since the prime minister was "ineffective", the Sri Lankan Navy had the audacity to kill Indian fishermen, she alleged.
"India is one among the biggest nations in the world with a mighty Armed Force. But, the tiny Sri Lanka is playing with the lives of Indian fishermen. This is happening only because the Central government is very weak," she told reporters outside the house of N Jayakumar, who was allegedly dragged into sea waters with a rope tied to his neck resulting in his death last week.
Jayalalithaa described as "illegal" the ceding of Katchatheevu, an islet, to Sri Lanka in 1974 by India by way of a pact saying it was not ratified by the Parliament.
Retrieval of Katchatheevu was the only solution to end the sufferings of Tamil Nadu fishermen, she said.
Jayalalithaa accused the DMK government of not showing any interest in safeguarding the lives of the fishermen. "The DMK is interested only in the welfare of a single family. Law and order is deteriorating in the state and people feel very insecure," she claimed.
Earlier, Jayalalithaa, who arrived at Vedaranyam by a helicopter, reached the Pushpanavam village by road.
She comforted the fisherman's family members and presented a cash relief of Rs one lakh to his wife Murugeswari, assuring all help, including assistance for the education of her two girl children.
She also visited the houses of the two injured fishermen and enquired about their health.
Two fishermen from the state were killed allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy in a span of 10 days following which India lodged a strong protest with the island nation and sought strong action to end such incidents.
Sri Lanka has denied its Navy was involved in the attacks.
Source: expressbuzz.com
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
TN Assembly polls: CPI-M to align with AIADMK
CPI-M today formally decided to forge an alliance with AIADMK to fight coming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, saying the need of the hour was to bring all secular and left democratic forces under one umbrella to defeat the DMK-Congress combine. The decision was taken on the concluding day of the two-day meet here of the party's Tamil Nadu state committee meeting, which was also attended by CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat. A resolution adopted at the meeting alleged that the family of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had "spread like octopus" in all spheres including politics, media and film world and only the defeat of the DMK at the hustings could save the state. In order to defeat the DMK-Congress combine and BJP, the need of the hour was to bring all secular and left democratic forces under one umbrella, it said. The meeting constituted a three-member committee headed by the state Secretary G Ramakrishnan for holding seat sharing talks with the AIADMK for the polls, due in May. The CPI-M had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections as part of the AIADMK-led front.
Source:- Expressbuzz.com
Source:- Expressbuzz.com
Monday, January 24, 2011
India has failed to protect fishermen from TN: Pandian
CPI state secretary D Pandian on Monday came down heavily on the central and state governments for failing to protect Indian fishermen from attacks by the Sri Lankan Navy.
Talking to mediapersons here, Pandian said it was a matter of shame for the entire nation that fishermen were continuously being gunned down by Sri Lankan forces without any valid reason. "While we often hear success stories about Indian forces who capture sea pirates in the Somalin Coast situated several miles away from India, we are unable to protect our fishermen who venture into the Rameswaram waters, just a few miles away from the coast. The government is making a clean surrender before the Sri Lankan forces," he alleged.
When asked about the forthcoming elections, he said his party would do its best to bring all opposition forces together, barring the BJP, to defeat the 'corrupt' DMK regime. "There will be more clarity by February 20. The alliance formed by AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa for the last Lok Sabha election still remains strong and vibrant and the focus is now on strengthening it further by inducting other democratic forces," he said. According to him, the seat-sharing talks among alliance partners in the AIADMK front would start after February 20.
Meanwhile, another AIADMK ally, the CPM, will organise a two-day state committee meeting on Monday in Chennai to discuss poll alliance.
Read more: Times of india
Talking to mediapersons here, Pandian said it was a matter of shame for the entire nation that fishermen were continuously being gunned down by Sri Lankan forces without any valid reason. "While we often hear success stories about Indian forces who capture sea pirates in the Somalin Coast situated several miles away from India, we are unable to protect our fishermen who venture into the Rameswaram waters, just a few miles away from the coast. The government is making a clean surrender before the Sri Lankan forces," he alleged.
When asked about the forthcoming elections, he said his party would do its best to bring all opposition forces together, barring the BJP, to defeat the 'corrupt' DMK regime. "There will be more clarity by February 20. The alliance formed by AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa for the last Lok Sabha election still remains strong and vibrant and the focus is now on strengthening it further by inducting other democratic forces," he said. According to him, the seat-sharing talks among alliance partners in the AIADMK front would start after February 20.
Meanwhile, another AIADMK ally, the CPM, will organise a two-day state committee meeting on Monday in Chennai to discuss poll alliance.
Read more: Times of india
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Join Jaya, defeat DMK, Cho tells Captain
Political commentator and editor of the Tamil weekly Thuglak Cho Ramaswamy has asked Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) leader Vijayakanth to ally with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) to put an end to corrupt rule of DMK in the State.
Addressing the gathering at the 41st anniversary meeting of the Thuglak Magazine here on Friday, Cho Ramaswamy said the AIADMK has more support than the DMK among the people. But it would be good for the AIADMK to have a strong alliance to fight the DMK in the forthcoming Assembly elections.
In this context, Cho said that Vijayakanth, who had faced enough problems from the DMK government, should do away with his stance to contest the elections independently.
“Vijayakanth’s stand of fighting independently will not yield any desirable result, so it is high-time he joined the AIADMK front to get rid of the DMK,” suggested Cho.
Earlier, responding to questions from the audience, Cho strongly remarked that AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa was one leader in Tamil Nadu, who could bring about a change in the State, and urged the people to vote for her.
Acclaimed writer S Gurumurthy earlier spoke about the spectrum scam during the event.
Source: expressbuzz.com
Addressing the gathering at the 41st anniversary meeting of the Thuglak Magazine here on Friday, Cho Ramaswamy said the AIADMK has more support than the DMK among the people. But it would be good for the AIADMK to have a strong alliance to fight the DMK in the forthcoming Assembly elections.
In this context, Cho said that Vijayakanth, who had faced enough problems from the DMK government, should do away with his stance to contest the elections independently.
“Vijayakanth’s stand of fighting independently will not yield any desirable result, so it is high-time he joined the AIADMK front to get rid of the DMK,” suggested Cho.
Earlier, responding to questions from the audience, Cho strongly remarked that AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa was one leader in Tamil Nadu, who could bring about a change in the State, and urged the people to vote for her.
Acclaimed writer S Gurumurthy earlier spoke about the spectrum scam during the event.
Source: expressbuzz.com
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Seeman to contest against MK in Assembly polls
Naam Thamizhar Iyakkam founder president and Tamil film director Seeman on Monday announced that he would contest against DMK chief and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi in the coming Assembly elections.
Seeman, who was released from Vellore Central Prison after the Madras High Court quashed his preventive detention under the National Security Act (NSA) recently, spoke to the media after calling on MDMK chief Vaiko here on Monday.
Asked whether he would campaign for the AIADMK in the forthcoming Assembly polls, he said his party would be aiming for the defeat of DMK-Congress combine and AIADMK is the party that can challenge this alliance. He said his party would support the AIADMK in the elections.
When asked about his meeting with Vaiko, Seeman, who charged that the State government misused NSA and booked him under the Act twice, said he wanted to thank the Vaiko for his support.
Vaiko and Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Movement convenor Nedumaran had called on Seeman while he was in Vellore prison.
The idea of fielding Seeman as a common Opposition candidate against Karunanidhi was tossed up publicly for the first time on Sunday at the launch of a book, What should be done for this?, by Tamilaruvimanian, a speaker at the event. Several Eelam supporters like Tamil nationalists movement leader Nedumaran and film personalities Seeman, Nassar and Manivanan spoke at the function in which the book, which has a collection of 300 photographs related to the genocide in Sri Lanka, was released.
MDMK was represented by party deputy general secretary Mallai Sathya and the PMK had send Velusamy MLA for the event. Speaker after speaker said that their prime aim was to defeat the Congress-DMK alliance in the elections.
The PMK was snubbed by one of the speakers, who said Tamil nationalistic fervour could not be nurtured by being with Sonia Gandhi and with Tamil lovers at the same time.
The meeting also touched upon the subject of organising protests against the conduct of the cricket world cup as the Sri Lankan team was part of it.
Source: Expressbuzz.com
Seeman, who was released from Vellore Central Prison after the Madras High Court quashed his preventive detention under the National Security Act (NSA) recently, spoke to the media after calling on MDMK chief Vaiko here on Monday.
Asked whether he would campaign for the AIADMK in the forthcoming Assembly polls, he said his party would be aiming for the defeat of DMK-Congress combine and AIADMK is the party that can challenge this alliance. He said his party would support the AIADMK in the elections.
When asked about his meeting with Vaiko, Seeman, who charged that the State government misused NSA and booked him under the Act twice, said he wanted to thank the Vaiko for his support.
Vaiko and Sri Lankan Tamils Protection Movement convenor Nedumaran had called on Seeman while he was in Vellore prison.
The idea of fielding Seeman as a common Opposition candidate against Karunanidhi was tossed up publicly for the first time on Sunday at the launch of a book, What should be done for this?, by Tamilaruvimanian, a speaker at the event. Several Eelam supporters like Tamil nationalists movement leader Nedumaran and film personalities Seeman, Nassar and Manivanan spoke at the function in which the book, which has a collection of 300 photographs related to the genocide in Sri Lanka, was released.
MDMK was represented by party deputy general secretary Mallai Sathya and the PMK had send Velusamy MLA for the event. Speaker after speaker said that their prime aim was to defeat the Congress-DMK alliance in the elections.
The PMK was snubbed by one of the speakers, who said Tamil nationalistic fervour could not be nurtured by being with Sonia Gandhi and with Tamil lovers at the same time.
The meeting also touched upon the subject of organising protests against the conduct of the cricket world cup as the Sri Lankan team was part of it.
Source: Expressbuzz.com
Monday, January 3, 2011
Despite DMK snub, PM says alliance is strong
Hours after DMK chief M Karunanidhi chose not to receive him at the airport in Chennai, the Congress party's alliance with the DMK is "as strong as ever" said the Prime Minister today.
Dr Manmohan Singh was in Chennai to inaugurate the 98th Science Congress this morning. Before that, he did meet Mr Karunanidhi at the city's Raj Bhawan. This was their first meeting since DMK leader A Raja was forced to resign as Telecom Minister in November because of massive corruption charges in the 2G spectrum scam.
Mr Raja is seen to be a favourite of the DMK leader. Raids in connection with the 2G scam have included Mr Raja's homes and offices, as well as the offices of some close associates of the DMK in Chennai, including senior journalists and a non-profit organization that enjoys the patronage of Mr Karunanidhi's daughter, Kanimozhi, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP. Through this, the DMK has said that its relationship with the Congress - with whose support it is in power in Tamil Nadu - remains strong. The DMK also defended Mr Raja at a series of public rallies in December.
Last night, Mr Karunanidhi skipped both the airport and a scheduled one-on-one meeting, opting instead to attend a poetry function. This morning, he was unruffled about that missed appointment.
"(The relationship) It is as strong as the ties between you (media) and me," he told reporters after meeting Dr Singh.
Mr Karunanidhi's perceived snub to the PM is being reported as payback for the last-minute glitch that the DMK has seen, courtesy the union government, for its pet project - the Adyar Eco Park. The Environment ministry in Delhi has delayed its approval for the park. The PM was meant to inaugurate the eco park this morning, but last week, his office conveyed this would not be possible.
Source: NDTV
Dr Manmohan Singh was in Chennai to inaugurate the 98th Science Congress this morning. Before that, he did meet Mr Karunanidhi at the city's Raj Bhawan. This was their first meeting since DMK leader A Raja was forced to resign as Telecom Minister in November because of massive corruption charges in the 2G spectrum scam.
Mr Raja is seen to be a favourite of the DMK leader. Raids in connection with the 2G scam have included Mr Raja's homes and offices, as well as the offices of some close associates of the DMK in Chennai, including senior journalists and a non-profit organization that enjoys the patronage of Mr Karunanidhi's daughter, Kanimozhi, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP. Through this, the DMK has said that its relationship with the Congress - with whose support it is in power in Tamil Nadu - remains strong. The DMK also defended Mr Raja at a series of public rallies in December.
Last night, Mr Karunanidhi skipped both the airport and a scheduled one-on-one meeting, opting instead to attend a poetry function. This morning, he was unruffled about that missed appointment.
"(The relationship) It is as strong as the ties between you (media) and me," he told reporters after meeting Dr Singh.
Mr Karunanidhi's perceived snub to the PM is being reported as payback for the last-minute glitch that the DMK has seen, courtesy the union government, for its pet project - the Adyar Eco Park. The Environment ministry in Delhi has delayed its approval for the park. The PM was meant to inaugurate the eco park this morning, but last week, his office conveyed this would not be possible.
Source: NDTV
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