Today in Politics: DMK to protest against Centre over NREGA payments as BJP honours Tamil icon Velu Nachiyar

On Tuesday, several members of the Opposition had held a protest over the MGNREGA issue outside Parliament.

MGNREGA is emerging as another flashpoint in the ongoing conflict between the BJP-led Centre and the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government. Not only has the DMK vehemently opposed the Nation Education Policy’s three-language formula, which the party see as “Hindi imposition”, but it has also launched a national forum of Opposition parties against the impending delimitation exercise to reapportion seats in the Lok Sabha.

Against the backdrop of these tensions, and with the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls scheduled for 2026, the BJP is set to honour Tamil icon and the first woman ruler to wage war against the British, Velu Nachiyar, on Saturday. Organised by the party’s women’s wing, the BJP will pay tribute to her at an event set to be attended by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Delhi CM Rekha Gupta.

The programme is also being seen as an extension of the party’s continuing outreach in Tamil Nadu, with Nachiyar among several figures from the state who have been celebrated by the Centre.

AIMPLB’s sit-in over Waqf Bill

After holding a sit-in outside the Bihar Assembly in Patna on Wednesday, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is set to protest in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada on Saturday as part of its nationwide agitation against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

AIMPLB spokesperson S Q R Ilyas said invitations have been sent to the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), YSR Congress, Congress and Left parties to participate. The senior leadership of the AIMPLB, along with representatives of national- and state-level religious and social organisations, will participate in these demonstrations, a statement said.

After the first phase of the agitation, major rallies are scheduled to be held in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Malerkotla (Punjab) and Ranchi.

The Waqf Bill, which has been referred to a joint parliamentary committee, has been the subject of intense debate between the Centre and the Opposition.

AAP protest over “free alcohol” in UP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has said it will hold statewide protests across Uttar Pradesh on Saturday over reports of liquor stores in the state offering “free alcohol”.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh accused the BJP of hypocrisy, claiming that while the Delhi government faced allegations and central agency probes over its excise policy, no one was questioning the UP government over such deals being offered by liquor stores.

The UP government is yet to react to the AAP’s allegations. Reportedly, liquor stores across many cities in the state are offering huge discounts and deals to clear out the stocks before a new excise policy comes into effect in the state on April 1. The store owners have been claiming that they will suffer huge losses if they don’t clear the old stock before the date.

– With PTI inputs