Former Union Minister A Raja on Monday apologized to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami for his remarks regarding the latter’s birth during campaigning. Raja had been facing huge protests by the AIADMK cadre across the state and even DMK MP Kanimozhi had expressed her displeasure regarding the statement. Raja, while addressing reporters on Monday, read out a statement saying if Palaniswami was hurt by his comments, he will not hesitate to issue an apology. “I never intended to insult the Chief Minister’s mother. I was sad to know that he (Edappadi) was hurt by my comments which were edited and put out for political reasons. I wholeheartedly apologize to the Chief Minister. Again, I would like to say that my comments were never personal and were just a comparison of two public personalities.”
READ | DMK leader A Raja apologises for remark against Tamil Nadu CM E Palaniswami
Vanathi Srinivasan, the national president of BJP’s women’s wing and the party’s candidate for Coimbatore South constituency, has slammed actor Kamal Haasan’s party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) for calling her a ‘thukkada’ (minuscule) politician. Taking to Twitter, Vanathi released a video where she said that a party that doesn’t respect women won’t be able to provide them protection.
READ | Kamal Haasan’s party doesn’t respect women: BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan responds to MNM calling her ‘thukkada politician’
For assistance on COVID-19-related queries and mental health support in Chennai, citizens can contact the Greater Chennai Corporation's (GCC) COVID-19 helpline 044 46122300 | Citizens can find the nearest GCC-facilitated COVID-19 fever clinic here | For lodging rain-related complaints and assistance during the monsoon, citizens can contact the GCC's monsoon helplines 044 25384530 or 044 25384540 or the control room 1913 (available 24x7)
Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal and Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani escaped unhurt after their cars collided near Tirupur, while they were going to attend an election rally in Dharapuram, to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday afternoon.
According to police, the cars, part of the convoy of both the VIPs, collided at a junction near Dharapuram. Under the impact, the windscreen and bumper of Dhanapal's car were damaged. Velumani's car's rear bumper was also damaged, they said.
While Dhanapal and Velumani escaped unhurt and left for the venue in separate vehicles, two security personnel sustained minor injuries, they said. (PTI)
A total of 7,02,432 people have been inoculated in Chennai till Monday, with 26,368 people having received their vaccine on Monday.
In a veiled attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday dubbed former union telecom minister A Raja, as an 'outdated 2G missile' of the Congress and DMK and slammed him for insulting the mother of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and targeting Tamil Nadu women.
Without naming Raja, Modi in his election rally in Dharapuram said Congress and DMK have launched their 'outdated 2G missile' and this missile has one clear target, the women of Tamil Nadu.
"A few days back, this missile was launched by UPA with a clear order to attack the nari shakti of Tamil Nadu." Today Congress and DMK have insulted the respected mother of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami, he alleged. "God forbid, if they come to power, they will insult many other women of Tamil Nadu."
Asking Congress and DMK leadership to control their party leaders, the PM said the people of Tamil Nadu are noting everything and they would never tolerate insult to the women of the state. (PTI)
Three people including a school teacher have been arrested by the district police of Tenkasi for sharing on social media a picture of a postal ballot with a vote cast ahead of the Tamil Nadu elections.
The action was taken based on a complaint by S Palani Nadar, a Congress candidate from the Tenkasi Assembly constituency. He claimed Sahara Arockia Anishtal, a graduate teacher from RC Middle School in Surandai, had cast her vote through a postal ballot, taken a picture of the ballot paper and shared it with her friends on WhatsApp and Facebook.
Following the complaint, the school administration was directed by the district election in-charge to suspend the teacher, and send a compliance report to the district education officer.
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The upward trend in COVID-19 cases continued in Telangana with 463 new infections being reported Monday, pushing the total positives to 3.07 lakh, while the toll rose to 1,694 with four more fatalities.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) saw the most number of cases with 145, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri and Rangareddy districts with 46 and 28 cases respectively, a state government bulletin said on Tuesday.
The bulletin said 364 patients recovered from the infection on March 29. The cumulative recovered cases stood at 3,00,833, while 4,678 were under treatment. It said 42,461 samples were tested on March 29. Cumulatively, the number of samples tested was 1 crore. The samples tested per million population was 2,71,238, it said.
The recovery rate in the state was 97.92 per cent while the case fatality rate in the state was 0.55 per cent. (PTI)
Actor Kangana Ranaut has said that Simi Garewal’s interview with former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa helped her in her research on the actor-politician while working on her biopic Thalaivi. The actor was responding to a Twitter user who wrote, “@Simi_Garewal is phenomenal. I don’t think any interviewer can match her level of grace. These shows nowadays have no soul honestly. Hers was authentic and enjoyable”. The tweet was in response to the YouTube link of an episode from Rendezvous with Simi Garewal that hosted J Jayalalithaa and mentioned how before watching Kangana’s Thalaivi one should watch “no-holds barred interview of the legend.”
Kangana said, “Yes @Simi_Garewal tapped in to real essence of a celebrity, A complete sketch of the subject. Rendezvous with Jayaa maa has helped me a lot in my research.” In the same tweet, she took a dig at Karan Johar and his popular talk show Koffee With Karan. “same can’t be said about certain Papa Jo whose interviews are all about bitching, bullying, gossip and frustrated sex,” she continued. Simi also retweeted the tweets.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Dharapuram today to campaign for Tamil Nadu BJP president L Murugan and other alliance candidates ahead of the assembly polls on April 6. Murugan has been fielded as the party’s candidate for Dharapuram (Reserved) assembly constituency.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister O Pannerselvam and other alliance leaders have reached Dharapuram to participate in a public meeting at a ground located on Udumalapet main road. Thousands of BJP and other party cadres have been making a beeline to the venue since morning. As many as 15 candidates are expected to be endorsed by PM Modi at the election meeting today.
As many as 40,000 police personnel have been deployed at the venue. BJP national general secretary in-charge CT Ravi, Tiruppur District Collector K Vijayakarthikeyan and other officials have been inspecting for the past couple of days to take care of the security arrangements.
Earlier today, more than 50 members of Thanthai Periyar Dravida Kazhagam were arrested in Coimbatore for staging a protest against the arrival of PM Modi. They carried black flags and raised slogans against Modi. Environmental Activist S Mugilan was picked from his home hours after he announced that he will show the black flag to PM Modi. He accused the Centre of delaying the release of seven convicts in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case.
After staying unchanged for four consecutive day, petrol and diesel prices fell across the country on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. This is the third revision in fuel prices this month. Petrol and diesel prices were reduced last week after staying unchanged at their record highs for 24 days with the previous revision taking place on February 27, 2021. After two successive price cuts, the prices were frozen for another four days.
In Chennai, the price of petrol is Rs. 92.58 per litre while that of diesel is Rs. 85.88 per litre.
The price of petrol in Hyderabad is Rs. 94.16 per litre and diesel is Rs. 88.20 per litre.
The Telangana government has decided to procure paddy this year through its centres at the village level.
After the three farm laws were passed, there had been uncertainty over paddy procurement in the state. However, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday, during a review meeting, took the decision to procure paddy, through 6,408 centres in villages, as was done last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. This year too, with cases rising, procurement at village centres will prevent overcrowding at district headquarters.
On Monday, Rao asked officials to ensure the minimum support price (MSP), for paddy brought to centres with moisture content below 17 per cent.
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The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) conducted 238 fever clinics in Chennai on Monday. A total of 17,568 people attended the clinics, with swabs collected from 196 people who were identified with ILI symptoms, while others were provided with medication for minor ailments.
The most number of camps were held in Tondiarpet (Zone 4) where 39 camps had been set up, while Manali (Zone 2) had the least with three camps.
The mercury continues to rise in Hyderabad with the state capital recording a maximum temperature of 40.1 degree Celsius on Monday afternoon, the Telangana State Development Planning Society (TSDPS) said.
On Sunday, the highest maximum temperature recorded was 39.4 degree Celsius at Narayanaguda in the city.
Data from state government-run TSDPS’s real-time automated weather stations showed that the highest maximum temperature recorded in the state was 42.7 degree from three different stations in Adilabad district on Monday.
Temperatures are very likely to be above normal by 2 to 3 degree Celsius at isolated places in Telangana between March 29 and April 1, the latest forecast issued by the Hyderabad centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed. Dry weather conditions are likely to prevail over the state for the next two or three days and the maximum temperatures across are likely to remain between 37 and 42 degree Celsius.
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The Madras High Court on Monday refused to disqualify Thangam Thennarasu, DMK candidate from Tiruchuli in Virudhunagar, from contesting in the April 6 assembly polls, after an independent candidate alleged the former Minister distributed gifts to voters.
Instead, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy directed the petitioner M Thiruppathy to approach the Election Commission of India, which is the sole authority to decide on the issue.
The petitioner, an independent candidate, alleged that Thennarasu indulged in distributing gifts to the voters and thereby violated the provisions of the Representation of the People Act. Hence, he should be disqualified by the court.
Despite repeated complaints to local election authorities, no action was taken. Hence, he has moved the court, the petitioner contended. (PTI)
Vanathi Srinivasan, the national president of BJP’s women’s wing and the party’s candidate for Coimbatore South constituency, has slammed actor Kamal Haasan’s party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) for calling her a ‘thukkada’ (minuscule) politician.
Taking to Twitter, Vanathi released a video where she said that a party that doesn’t respect women won’t be able to provide them protection.
“I have been provided the opportunity by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to serve as the National President of the BJP’s women’s wing. Our Union Minister Smirti Irani said Kamal Haasan should have a healthy debate with me and for that, the MNM party has called me a ‘thukkada politician’. I was born here in a small village, studied in a government school, and became a lawyer. I chose to dedicate my life to the public despite having the responsibility to take care of my children and my family,” she said.
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The BJP on Monday asked the people of Tamil Nadu to recollect the five years of alleged tyrannical rule of the DMK from 2006-2011 before casting their vote during the April 6 Assembly poll in the state.
DMK president M K Stalin believes that by spreading lies on a daily basis, he can come back to power. But, the Tamil people have realised that they have been taken for a ride, BJP's state election in-charge C T Ravi said. He said, "DMK stands for Dynasty, Money, Kattapanchayat." "Everyone (in Tamil Nadu) still recollect with fear the five years of tyranny, and when are you (Stalin) going to apologise for the endless atrocities and brutalities against them," Ravi said at a press meet in Coimbatore.
They (Tamil Nadu people) have led a peaceful life under the able administration of Chief Minister Palaniswami, he said on the sidelines of releasing the manifesto of Coimbatore south constituency candidate Vanathi Srinivasan. "Only the "double-engine" government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Palaniswami can take Tamil Nadu on the super-highway of progress and prosperity," Ravi said.
Condemning the derogatory remarks made by former Minister and DMK senior leader A Raja against the Chief Minister and his mother, Ravi said this was the DNA of DMK. Asked how confident the NDA alliance was in retaining power in the state as many surveys have given the DMK-led alliance an upperhand, Ravi said many of the earlier surveys had proven wrong. The AIADMK led-alliance was sure of retaining power, he said.
To a question on the Mekedatu Dam issue which farmers from the state were opposing, Ravi said the next intention of the government was to interlink rivers. Once it was over, the water crisis and disputes would be solved, he said. (PTI)
Protests broke out in Dharapuram in the morning ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the district today. Holding black flags and posters saying "Go back Modi", the protesters were later detained. Several farmers too hung black balloons in protest of Modi's visit.
Targeting his rival MK Stalin on the subject of faith, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E K Palaniswami on Monday said AIADMK members were true believers and lashed out at the DMK leader for certain past controversial acts, including him allegedly ‘wiping off’ kumkum from his forehead.
The AIADMK Joint Coordinator also recalled the alleged attack on late Chief Minister and then Leader of Opposition J Jayalalithaa in the Assembly in 1989, when the DMK was in power.
“If that had been her plight, imagine that of the common man,” Palaniswami, who has launched a full-scale attack against the DMK while seeking a third term for his party in the April 6 Assembly elections, told an election rally here.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address an election meeting on March 30 at Dharapuram from where BJP State unit president L Murugan is contesting the April 6 assembly elections.
Modi, who launched the party campaign in Coimbatore on February 25, is expected to arrive at the city airport at 10.20 am and leave by helicopter for Dharapuram in Tirupur district, the sources said.
After the meeting, the prime minister will return to the city around 2.20 pm and leave for Chennai. (PTI)
DMK President M K Stalin on Monday promised that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will not be allowed in Tamil Nadu if his party was voted to power in the April 6 Assembly elections and slammed the ruling AIADMK for ‘supporting’ the BJP in Parliament on the issue.
Had the AIADMK and lone PMK member in the Rajya Sabha voted against the bill, CAA would not have seen the light of day and the two parties should be blamed for the ‘plight’ of minorities all over the country, he said.
Addressing an election meeting in Jolarpet, Stalin charged the ruling AIADMK with “enacting a drama” on the matter ahead of the polls and recalled that his party had earlier staged protests against the CAA and also launched a massive signature campaign against it.
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The ruling TRS in Telangana on Monday announced Nomula Bhagat Kumar as its candidate for the April 17 bypoll from the Nagarjuna Sagar assembly constituency.
Bhagat Kumar is son of Nomula Narasimhaiah, the sitting TRS MLA whose death in December last due to ill-health necessitated the by-election.
Meanwhile, the BJP announced that P Ravi Kumar would be its nominee for the bypoll.
The Congress has already announced the candidature of senior leader K Jana Reddy, who had served as Leader of Opposition in the previous Legislative Assembly, as its candidate. (PTI)
A detailed report on DMK leader A Raja’s alleged personal criticism of Chief Minister K Palaniswami has been sent to the Election Commission for action, Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Satyabrata Sahoo said on Monday.
It includes the video clip and the action taken by district election officer (DEO) and Superintendent of Police, he told reporters in Chennai.
Explaining that the DEO and SP would analyse the video clip to see if it invokes IPC sections or CrPC while the Election Commission will examine if there has been violation of model code of conduct, Sahoo said, “We have sent a detailed report including the video clip and action taken report of the DEO and SP to the EC to take a call on the issue.”
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A total of 244 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 122 arrivals and 122 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.
A 35-year-old Kolkata-bound passenger was deboarded from a flight in Chennai on Monday after information was received that he had tested positive for COVID-19, officials said.
The passenger was to fly to Kolkata via Mumbai and had a COVID-19 negative certificate but later it emerged that he had tested positive, they said adding that the airline received information in this connection.
He was immediately deplaned and taken in an ambulance for medical treatment, they added. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu’s Health and Family Welfare Department secretary, J Radhakrishnan, on Sunday said that the government will not take any sudden decision on imposing another lockdown in the state as it causes unnecessary panic among the public.
He said that there is laxity among workers and the government in taking steps to curb the spread of Covid-19 cases in the state. “We should not squander the gain achieved through effective monitoring measures,” he added.
Radhakrishnan and a team of health officials visited the Rajiv Gandhi Government General hospital to inspect the allocation of 300 additional beds for Covid-19 patients.
“We have initiated a micro plan. The ITHAS software developed by the IIT is also being used to identify potential hotspots. The officials have been asked to strictly implement the test, track and treat policy. For every person who tests positive, we have instructed the officials to test a minimum of 30 of their contacts,” he informed.
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Tamil Nadu recorded 2279 positive cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the state tally to 8,81,752. Among these, Chennai reported 815 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 2,47,148. The state recorded 14 deaths on Monday, putting the state toll at 12,684. Twelve of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 1352 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 8,55,085.
As of Monday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 13,983. Till date, 5,32,469 males, 3,49,247 females and 36 transgenders have tested positive for the virus in the state.
According to a bulletin released by the Health and Family Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu, 1,94,28,501 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 80,253 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 259 COVID-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 190 are private facilities.
Good morning!
Welcome to the live blog from Chennai and Hyderabad where we bring to you the latest updates on Tamil Nadu elections 2021, COVID-19 vaccination, COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, UK COVID-19 virus in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and more across Chennai and Hyderabad throughout the day. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the states in real time.
A total of 6,76,064 people have been inoculated in Chennai till date, with 12,483 people having received their COVID-19 shot on Sunday.
Puducherry added 125 fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours taking the overall tally in the union territory to 41,226, a top Health department official said on Monday. A 67-year old male patient succumbed to the virus at the government general hospital in Mahe pushing the toll to 681, Director of Department of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release. The deceased had coronary artery disease and diabetes as comorbidities, he added.
Meanwhile, the overall COVID-19 tally went up to 41,226 with the addition of 125 new cases during the last 24 hours ending 10 AM Monday, he said. The new infections were identified at the end of examination of 1,464 samples and were spread over Puducherry (91), Karaikal (28) and Mahe (6). The Yanam region, an enclave of Puducherry in Andhra Pradesh, did not report any fresh case, he said.
Mohan Kumar said the number of active cases stood at 991 (282 in hospitals and 709 in home quarantine). He said that 39,554 patients had recovered and were discharged so far. As many as 6.67 lakh samples have been tested so far and it was found that 6.17 lakh of them were negative. Forty patients were discharged during the last 24 hours, the Health department Director said.
The fatality and recovery rates were 1.65 per cent and 95.94 per cent respectively. He said that 24,950 health workers and 10,467 front line workers have been vaccinated so far in the Union Territory.
The second phase of vaccination which commenced on March 1 has covered so far 27,382 people coming under the category of senior citizens and those above 45 years with comorbidities. (PTI)
Telangana recorded 403 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, taking the tally to 3,06,742, while the death toll rose to 1,690 with two more fatalities, the state government said on Monday.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 146, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri and Rangareddy districts with 40 and 34 cases respectively, it said in a bulletin.
The bulletin said 313 patients recovered from the infection on March 28. The cumulative recovered cases stood at 3,00,469, while 4,583 were under treatment. The bulletin said 33,930 samples were tested on March 28. Cumulatively, the number of samples tested was 1,00,53,026. The samples tested per million population was 2,70,097, it said.
The recovery rate in the state was 97.95 per cent while the case fatality rate in the state was 0.55 per cent. (PTI)
Four people were killed and over 60 injured in a head-on collision between a van ferrying mill workers and a government bus on Monday, police said.
Eight people were seriously injured and they have been referred to the Madurai Rajaji Government Hospital, they added.
The accident happened near Vathalakundu in Dindigul district when the two vehicles were involved in the collision, killing all four victims on the spot, police said. The deceased included the van driver.
Besides the eight seriously injured, 54 others sustained minor injuries and were treated in local hospitals, police said, adding a probe was on into the mishap. (PTI)
Former Union Minister A Raja on Monday apologized to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami for his remarks regarding the latter’s birth during campaigning. Raja had been facing huge protests by the AIADMK cadre across the state and even DMK MP Kanimozhi had expressed her displeasure regarding the statement.
Raja, while addressing reporters on Monday, read out a statement saying if Palaniswami was hurt by his comments, he will not hesitate to issue an apology. “I never intended to insult the Chief Minister’s mother. I was sad to know that he (Edappadi) was hurt by my comments which were edited and put out for political reasons. I wholeheartedly apologize to the Chief Minister. Again, I would like to say that my comments were never personal and were just a comparison of two public personalities.”
The AIADMK had submitted a complaint against Raja a day after he made the remark. AIADMK’s women’s wing raised slogans, burnt effigies and demanded the arrest of the DMK leader.
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Eight people were killed and seven others injured on Sunday when the tempo in which they were travelling hit a stationary lorry in Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, police said.
The victims from Tamil Nadu were on their way back home after a pilgrimage to Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh when the mishap occurred, the police said.
Seven died on the spot while another died while being shifted to a hospital, they said. Police suspect a thick fog might have caused the mishap. (PTI)
Enjoy Enjami, the latest independent Tamil song featuring Dhee and Arivu, is a viral sensation, with admirers across languages and pop cultures. Arivu has insisted on various platforms that Enjoy Enjami is a political song and not just an entertaining dance number. Social media, however, has largely removed the subtext of the song, an important political work that links ancestry, land, wealth and joy. The song, as Arivu mentions in an interview, is a call for celebration and an ode to his marginalised ancestors. This is revolutionary from a cinematic lens that insists on depicting oppressed castes in the perpetual light of endless suffering.
Arivu speaks about the lack of representation in media while he was growing up and is aware of the burden of representation he has to bear today. Arivu is one among the new generation of anti-caste hip-hop artistes and says he was hesitant to call himself a rapper, given the Indian rap space that had turned rap — a Black political tool of freedom — into an elite mainstream art. For such a self-conscious artist, it’s unfortunate that the video of Enjoy enjami does little justice to his lyrics and its underlying politics. The music video is an example of Dalit music, art, and verse corrupted by the savarna gaze. We’ll get to that later.
Enjoy Enjaami was inspired by the experience of Arivu’s grandmother, Valliamma, as a bonded labourer in Sri Lanka. Dalits constitute 83 per cent of the 3.6 million workers in Sri Lanka’s tea plantations. Most are Tamil-speaking landless people belonging to oppressed castes. The song honours and recognises the labour of the landless that has gone into the creation of the wealth of nations and communities, into civilisation itself. The lived experience of Valiamma and generational loss of experiencing landlessness are aptly depicted as opari, a Tamil mourning song, embedded in the Enjoy Enjaami
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The Andhra Pradesh Board of Intermediate Education (BIEAP) released the admit card for the practical exams for intermediate second year. Candidates can download the admit card from the website- bie.ap.gov.in.
The practical exams are scheduled to be held from March 31 to April 24. The first and second year exams will be conducted from May 5 onwards.
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The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) conducted 205 fever clinics in Chennai on Sunday. A total of 7092 people attended the clinics, with swabs collected from 13 people who were identified with ILI symptoms, while others were provided with medication for minor ailments.
The most number of camps were held in Thiru.Vi.Ka Nagar (Zone 6) where 30 camps had been set up, while Manali (Zone 2) had the least with three camps.
Prices of petrol and diesel were steady for the fourth consecutive day across the country on Monday, March 29, 2021. After remaining unchanged for 24 days at their record highs, the auto fuel prices had slipped for two consecutive days last week and were last changed on March 25, 2021, when petrol fell by 21 paise per litre and diesel slipped by 20 paise.
While petrol is Rs. 92.77 per litre in Chennai, the price of diesel is Rs. 86.10.
In Hyderabad, the price of petrol is Rs. 94.39 per litre and that of diesel is Rs. 88.45 per litre.
M K Stalin was always meant to lead his party, the natural heir of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi. Yet, unusually for a political dynast, he had to wait until age 64 before he could become working president of the DMK in January 2017, and later, party president after the death of his father on August 7, 2018.
If Stalin’s was a slow, yet steady, rise to the top post in his party, it was in the most unlikeliest of situations that Edappadi K Palaniswami, among AIADMK matriarch J Jayalalithaa’s loyalists, became Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Jayalalithaa died in December 2016, plunging her highly centralised party into ferment, with leaders openly fighting to stake claim to the seat she had left vacant. The fire that began then is yet to be doused.
In Tamil Nadu, a state whose politics has revolved around personalities, this is the first election without either Karunanidhi or Jayalalithaa, two of its most towering leaders. Yet, this hasn’t taken the sheen off the election or the two parties that head into the poll arena with two new commanders — Stalin on the DMK side, and EPS, as Palaniswami is called, in the AIADMK corner. Together, the alliances they head hold sway over 70-80% of the voter base.
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Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Sunday offered prayers at the shrine of Bala Murugan near Puducherry on the occasion of 'Panguni Uthiram,' an auspicious festival for Lord Muruga.
The Lt Governor prayed to the presiding deity to free the country of coronavirus, an official release said. She was accompanied by senior officials of the territorial administration.
A large number of people from Puducherry and neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu thronged the temple. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday turned emotional while reacting to DMK leader A Raja’s alleged disparaging remarks against him, his mother and said a mother occupied a lofty position in society and anyone who denigrated women would be punished by God.
A day after the AIADMK lodged a police complaint against Raja for his comment, Palaniswami, obviously sad, denounced the offensive language used by the rival party leader.
As he tried to speak up in a campaign in north Chennai, the Chief Minister’s voice choked and he turned emotional.
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Accompanied by scores of “volunteers” — most of them non-locals — in a cavalcade of cars and SUVs, K Annamalai is moving through the parched lands and rocky terrain of this backward constituency which has always voted for the AIADMK or the DMK. The campaign of this former police officer is lavish — videographers and photographers capture his every moment and a tech team provides back-up. In his car, between brief speeches, he takes inputs from professional consultants.
But his task, while challenging, is simple — introduce the symbol Lotus to an electorate which only knows the Two Leaves (the AIADMK) and Rising Sun (the DMK). Suave and articulate, Annamalai, 36, quit the IPS in 2019 and joined the BJP last year, and is the party’s state vice-president.
The lack of a BJP cadre base in the constituency has been met by Annamalai with his extensive network of friends, and members of spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation — around 1,200-1,500 volunteers in all.
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Rahul Gandhi should take the leadership role to unite opposition parties across India to fight the BJP-led government at the Centre, DMK chief M K Stalin said on Sunday at a rally organised by his party and its alliance partners at Salem, the home turf of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and an AIADMK stronghold.
With the former Congress president sharing the stage, Stalin said, “Here, I have a kind request to Rahul Gandhi… No, a firm request. When we talk over the phone, sometimes I call him [Rahul] ‘Sir’. He would then correct me, he would ask me to call him brother. My brother Rahul, here is my humble and heartfelt request to you…”
“India is being destroyed in the clutches of a Fascist government now. You have the responsibility to protect India at this time. Let it be assembly or Lok Sabha elections, it was the united secular front in Tamil Nadu that ensured a washout of the BJP front. The same is going to repeat again now in this election,” Stalin said, referring to the April 6 assembly elections in the state.
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All India BJP Mahila Morcha president and Coimbatore South Assembly constituency candidate Vanathi Srinivasan on Sunday led a protest in Coimbatore, to condemn former Union minister A Raja for his alleged derogatory remarks against women.
More than 500 women raised slogans against DMK leader Raja for his alleged unsavoury remarks against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his mother a couple of days ago.
Addressing the protestors, Vanathi Srinivasan said the DMK was known for showing disrespect to women, which seemed to be part of its ideology. She also recalled an incident where DMK propaganda secretary Dindigul I Leoni also made derogatory remarks against women during a campaign in the city a few days ago.
The BJP leader lauded AIADMK women workers, who were also present at the protest, for their discipline and culture, as they were followers of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa. (PTI)
A total of 244 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 122 arrivals and 122 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.
Amid elections and code of conduct in force, the 13th edition of Elephant Rejuvenation Camp concluded at Thekkampatti about 50 km from Coimbatore, without much fanfare.
A total of 26 elephants from various temples and mutts from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry participated in the 48-day annual rejuvenation camp which began on February 8 and ended on Saturday.
An elephant from Sri Andal Temple in Sriviliputhur was sent back after a few days, as the mahout and his assistant were seen hitting it mercilessly reportedly for non-obedience.
As against the normal practice of holding a valedictory function, with presence of State Ministers, to mark the conclusion of the camp and also sending back the elephants in trucks to their respective places, this year it was a low-key affair.
A few officials from HR and CE, Forest and Animal Husbandry department were present during the event, official sources said on Sunday. (PTI)
DMK MP A Raja has been booked by the Chennai police over a complaint from the ruling AIADMK for allegedly making vulgar personal remarks against Chief Minister K Palaniswami, a senior official said on Sunday.
The case was filed based on a complaint to the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) which was forwarded to the Greater Chennai Police, Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal told reporters in Chennai.
“On the basis, the case was filed under Indian Penal Code and Representation of People Act,” he said, without divulging details.
Earlier, Raja courted a controversy after he allegedly made vulgar personal remarks against Palaniswami during an election campaign, with the AIADMK knocking the doors of the EC with a plea to debar him from campaigning for the April 6 Assembly elections.
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Tamil Nadu recorded 2194 positive cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the state tally to 8,79,473. Among these, Chennai reported 833 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 2,46,339. The state recorded 11 deaths on Sunday, putting the state toll at 12,670. Ten of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 1270 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 8,53,733.
As of Sunday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 13,070. Till date, 5,31,110 males, 3,48m327 females and 36 transgenders have tested positive for the virus in the state.
According to a bulletin released by the Health and Family Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu, 1,93,47,797 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 85,350 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 259 COVID-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 190 are private facilities.
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