Arun Janardhanan

Kamal Haasan is neither a good orator nor a communicator, but he has been increasingly efficient in putting across his messages in simple terms. 

The Madras High Court had on Monday taken suo motu notice of the alleged harassment, and is directly monitoring the case now being probed by the CB-CID.

The AIADMK is in a fix as allies BJP and RSS want to facilitate re-entry into the party of ousted general secretary V K Sasikala, the closest aide of the late J Jalayalithaa. On the other side, the DMK is refusing to hand out more seats to the Congress.

In its order, the Madras High Court restrained political parties from politicising, publicising or issuing media statements about the case, and prevented the media from naming the victim and the accused officer.

The team will also probe the role of Chengalpattu SP D Kannan IPS, who tried to intercept the victim’s vehicle on February 22 when she was on her way to Chennai to file a formal complaint against Das.

Asked by reporters about the complaint, Chief Minister E K Palaniswami said Friday: “Nothing has been proved so far. A probe is on.”

It is seen as a crucial decision by the AIADMK regime to retain PMK in their alliance even as the party has no representation in the state assembly.

The polls also are a test for a new generation of leaders -- Edappadi K Palaniswami (66) and M K Stalin (67) -- who are leading their parties into an Assembly election for the first time, while dealing with simmering displeasures within their own ranks.

One of the most prominent orators of his generation, Veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Tha Pandian was also active in trade union works in Tamil Nadu as well as Delhi.

Congress leaders called it shameful, saying that K Kamaraj had been subjected to an attack by the RSS. However, an RSS leader denied that the organisation had any role in the attack and said there was nothing wrong in the decision to use a cutout of the leader.

Sasikala further said that to retain power in Tamil Nadu, all “Amma’s followers” should work together “like bees” and take a vow towards the goal of forming the government again, adding that she could “see the face of Jayalalithaa” in each of the party workers.

Speaking to The Indian Express at his residence after he and his Council of Ministers submitted their resignations to L-G Tamilisai Soundararajan, Narayanasamy said he was a “happy man” since he had run a government for five years despite hurdles put up by the Opposition.

The Congress has lost its only government in the south. The crisis comes months ahead of polls in the UT.

Puducherry floor test: Politically, the crisis in Puducherry is the outcome of a battle between two national parties that has extended from Delhi to the small Union Territory in the south.

With Sunday’s resignations of the Congress’s K Lakshmi-narayanan and ruling ally DMK’s K Venkatesan, a Congress leader told The Indian Express: “Even if the Speaker invokes his right to vote, there is no chance of getting majority strength.”

The veteran music director passed away in Chennai on Thursday, aged 72.

Protesters against the CAA were booked for serious charges such as rioting, as well as other charges including causing inconvenience to the public, damaging public property and preventing the police from discharging their duty, which will now be dropped.

The latest developments in Puducherry were part and parcel of similar strategies BJP had been applying in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, ahead of the upcoming polls.

The development comes hours after the Congress government in the Union Territory lost its majority with another ruling party legislator resigning today.

With the latest development, both the ruling Congress-DMK alliance and AIADMK-BJP alliance have 14 MLAs each in the 33-member Assembly.

Speaking in Chennai, the Prime Minister also hailed the defence forces as he dedicated the indigenously designed and manufactured “Main Battle Tank Arjun Mark 1A” to the nation, and praised the farmers of Tamil Nadu.

The Centre and the Tamil Nadu Governor’s office have left a decision on their release to each other. A look at the seven convicts, their role in Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, what has changed for them, and what hasn’t.

AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa's closest aide, Sasikala, imprisoned in February 2017, is set to challenge the authority of Chief Minister E Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Paneerselvam, as "her true successor".

Pebbles became the first Tamil film and only the second Indian film, after Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s S Durga, to get the Tiger Award, with Vinothraj winning in his debut effort.