Chennai:

Two political workers from Tamil Nadu have been murdered in less than 24 hours — one of them in neighbouring Puducherry. Selvakumar, a BJP worker from Sivaganga district was found murdered last night. In neighbouring Puducherry, Padmanabhan, AIADMK’s Ward Secretary from Cuddalore district, was killed.

Selvakumar was president of the party’s district cooperative wing, and an accused in a murder case. Investigators have said the murder had its roots in personal enmity.

A senior officer told NDTV, “Selvakumar was into the brick kiln business… We have identified the suspect. Personal enmity appears to be the cause of murder”.

Padmanabhan was first hit by a car while he was returning on a motorbike. Then he was hacked to death. Investigators from Puducherry have rushed to Cuddalore. Police sources suspect this to be a revenge killing.

This is the third murder of a political functionary this month in Tamil Nadu. A few weeks ago, Armstrong, the state chief of Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party, was hacked to death by a six-member gang. Investigators called it a retaliation murder.

Armstrong was suspected of engineering the murder of an alleged rowdie, Arcot Suresh, last year.  A week later, an NTK functionary was hacked to death in Madurai. The police had attributed it to a land dispute within the family.

In Kanniyakumari, a Congress councillor’s husband, Jackson, a driver, was murdered this morning. The man was hacked to death.  The police are on the lookout for a six-member gang.

The murders have come as a huge embarrassment for the ruling DMK, which recently transferred the Chennai Police chief and the Home Secretary. The new police chief is A Arun and Dheeraj Kumar is the new Home Secretary, but one of the accused in the Armstrong murder case was shot dead after the change.

The Opposition AIADMK is targeting the ruling DMK. Its spokesperson Kovai Sathyan said the murders “clearly illustrate the lawlessness in the state and the incompetence of Chief Minister M K Stalin”.

“MK Stalin should examine if he has the moral right to continue as Chief Minister,” state BJP chief K Annamalai posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The ruling DMK says the law and order situation in the state is far better than in BJP-ruled states. Citing data from the National Crime Records Bureau, it has accused the Opposition of playing politics.

DMK spokesperson Dr Hafeezullah said, “A no-crime situation is utopian across the world. What is important is how the government responds and prevents. Chief Minister M K Stalin has dealt with these firmly and professionally”.

BJP workers, he said, are involved in several criminal cases “including murder and drugs cases and (party chief) Annamalai should introspect if he should continue as state BJP president,” he said.

Even BJP’s Tamilisai Soundarajan has said the party admitted criminals without any scrutiny, which “didn’t happen” when she headed the party.

Chennai:

Actor-turned politician Vijay on Wednesday spoke out against NEET and extended his support to the resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly against the central qualifying test for undergraduate medical programmes, seeking exemption to the southern state.

The NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) has been a sensitive issue in Tamil Nadu as scores of medical aspirants have died allegedly by suicide over the past few years. All major political parties, including the ruling DMK and the AIADMK, have been opposed to the exam.

“NEET has lost its credibility and it has to be abandoned across India,” said Vijay as he addressed class X and XII toppers for the second time in a week.

Pressing for total freedom for states, Vijay said: “NEET exemption is the only instant solution. I welcome the resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly.”

Vijay, founder of Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), urged the Union government to give assent for the NEET exemption bill passed by the state assembly soonest.

Calling the mandatory entrance test for medical admission “against states’ rights”, Vijay said “it affects the poor, backward and marginalised and scheduled caste  students”.
The concept of one nation, one test, Vijay said “is against diversity and against the very purpose of education”. He added, “Imagine how difficult will it be for students studying state syllabus to take an exam under NCERT?”

The politician, whose party is preparing to contest the 2026 Assembly elections, said education should be brought under the State list.

The permanent solution would be to move Education from Concurrent list to State list and if there was any ‘difficulty’ in this, “a special Concurrent List could be created and include Education and Health in it,” following a Constitutional amendment, he said.

For nearly a decade, Tamil Nadu has abolished entrance test for medical admission, saying it favours affluent students who can afford private coaching and works against poor and rural students who can’t afford private coaching. More than 20 medical aspirants have died by suicide over the issue in te recent years.

When NEET was introduced during the UPA regime, the state was given exemption following assent by the then President following pressure from the the ruling DMK.

However, the BJP has not yet given assent to a bill passed by the state assembly to exempt the state from the mandatory test. The state brought out the bill following recommendations by a committee under a retired high court judge.

Vijay, who has a cult following in the state, is reaching out to first time voters and their parents hoping to make a dent in Tamil Nadu politics dominated by the two Dravidian parties.

Last week, he had encouraged students to enter politics, saying, “Now we need good leaders. We have enough doctors and engineers”.

While contemporary stars like Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth have not been able to make it big in Tamil Nadu politics, his fans say Vijay will hit a sixer as he has made this plunge when he’s at the peak of his popularity unlike others.
 

Twelve of the 20 new companies which bought electoral bonds were from Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: Akash Dhage/Unsplash

Despite companies in existence for less than three years not being allowed to make political contributions — even through the electoral bonds route — data shows that at least 20 such newly incorporated firms purchased poll bonds worth about ₹103 crore (Table 1).

At the time when they purchased their first electoral bonds, five of these firms were in existence for less than a year, seven of them were a year old and the eight others had only completed two years. Notably, many of these firms were started in 2019 when the Indian economy went through recession or during the middle of the pandemic and bought electoral bonds worth crores of rupees just months after incorporation.

Also read: Electoral bonds data | Full list of donors and recipient political parties

The ban on companies making political contributions within three years from incorporation has been in existence for nearly four decades. In 1985, the Parliament amended Section 293A, lifting the ban on political contributions by firms subject to a few conditions. One of the conditions was that the firms should not be owned by the government and should not be less than three years old. This clause was retained under Section 182 of the Companies Act, 2013. When Section 154 of the Finance Act, 2017, amended Section 182, just before the introduction of electoral bonds, this clause was again retained. However, the amendment deleted the first proviso by which the amount donated by a company was capped at 7.5% of its average net profit during its previous three financial years. The prohibition on companies making donations to political parties in their first three years continued. According to Section 182 of the Companies Act 2013, if a firm makes a donation in contravention to the provisions, “the company shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five times the amount so contributed and every officer of the company who is in default shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and with fine which may extend to five times the amount so contributed”.

Table 1 | The table shows the names of the 20 firms which purchased the electoral bonds (EBs), within three years of their incorporation. The date of incorporation of these companies, the date on which they purchased their first poll bond, the difference between the two dates along with the total worth of bonds purchased by these firms is mentioned in the table. 

Table appears incomplete? Click to remove AMP mode

Also read: Electoral bonds data | 55 firms’ purchase exceeded 7.5% cap in 2022-24, lion’s share went to BJP

12 of these 20 companies were headquartered in Hyderabad (Table 2). Together these 12 companies donated ₹37.5 crores, and close to 75% of which was encashed by the BRS, with the rest divided among the TDP, the Congress and the BJP. Two companies in Hyderabad — Tsharks Infra Developers Private Limited and Tsharks Overseas Education Consultancy Private Limited — both incorporated in 2023 — purchased ₹7.5 crore worth of bonds within months of getting incorporated and donated it to the BRS. Among the rest, HH Iron and Steel Private Limited, headquartered in Coimbatore, gave ₹15 crores to the BJP and five crores to the BJD. Their first electoral bond purchase was done just days short of turning three years old. Askus Logistics Private Limited, incorporated in November 2021, bought its first electoral bond within 1.5 years of its incorporation and donated ₹22 crores. This was encashed by the DMK, AITC and the RJD. Besseggen Infotech LLP, incorporated in May 2018, bought bonds worth ₹11.5 crores, with their first purchase done two years and ten months into their existence.

Table 2 | The table shows the city-wise split of the 20 companies.

Table 3 | The table shows the party-wise split of the encashments of the EBs purchased by the 20 companies.

Electoral bonds data | New firms bought crores of electoral bonds within months of formation

The three-year rule was retained to prevent shell companies from making political contributions. When the first proviso, which prescribed the 7.5% cap, was removed in 2017, the Election Commission of India had warned that this may lead to the use of “black money through shell companies”. The RBI had also flagged the possibility of firms misusing bearer bonds for money laundering.

The list of 20 firms is not exhaustive as it does not include the firms which were newly incorporated after mergers and amalgamations. The list also does not include firms that are not in the MCA

With inputs from Rebecca Rose Varghese

Watch our Data video:Electoral bonds banned: Which party benefitted the most while it existed?

New Delhi:

The Tamil Nadu government has approached the Supreme Court accusing Governor RN Ravi of intentionally delaying the bills sent to him for clearance. The government urged the court to direct the Governor to give assent or dispose of bills within a specified time frame.

The DMK government and Tamil Nadu governor have been at loggerheads for the past few months. Chief Minister MK Stalin and Centre-appointed Governor Ravi have earlier clashed on pending bills, Mr Stalin’s foreign trips, the Dravidian model of governance, and the latter’s remarks on the state’s name.

In its request to the Supreme Court, the Tamil Nadu government claimed that the bills and orders being forwarded by the state assembly were not being cleared by the Governor on time. Twelve bills, four prosecution sanctions and files relating to the premature release of 54 prisoners are currently pending before Governor Ravi, the government said.

The government also accused the Governor of “undermining the will of people” and “abusing the position of the ceremonial head”.

Governor Ravi had earlier this year stirred a debate on the state’s name with his remarks on January 4 during an event in Chennai. “Here in Tamil Nadu, a different kind of narrative has been created. Everything that applies to the whole of the country, Tamil Nadu will say no. It has become a habit. So many theses have been written – all false and poor fiction. Truth must prevail. Thamizhagam would be a more appropriate word to call it,” he said.

Faced with a massive backlash, he later claimed it was “erroneous and far-fetched” to infer that he had suggested changing the name of the state with his comments on “Tamizhagam” and the Raj Bhavan reverted to using the name Tamil Nadu.

Later, in January itself, RN Ravi walked out of the assembly after MK Stalin moved a resolution asking the Speaker to take on record only the speech prepared by the state government, and remove the portions the Governor added to or skipped from the customary address.

Chennai:

A Molotov cocktail, called ‘petrol bomb’ in local parlance, was lobbed by a man in front of the Raj Bhavan’s main gate on Wednesday, an incident which drew the opposition’s ire over the handling of law and order by the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu.

The Raj Bhavan asserted it was “attacked” and that “miscreants carrying bombs tried to barge in through the main gate.” “However, alert sentries prevented and assailants hurled two petrol bombs inside Raj Bhavan and escaped,” a post on Raj Bhavan’s official ‘X’ handle claimed.

Opposition AIADMK and BJP slammed the government over the incident that happened outside the official residence of the State Governor.

There was no damage, injuries to anyone and there was no security lapse, a senior police official said, adding the man who threw the petrol bomb was immediately overpowered. He was identified as ‘Karukka’ Vinoth, a man with many pending cases against him.

On Sardar Patel Road, on the opposite side of the Raj Bhavan, the man tried to throw a bottle by around 3 PM and it was immediately noticed by policemen on duty near the main gate, Prem Anand Sinha, Additional Commissioner of Police (South), told reporters.

While alert police personnel were apprehending him, the man hurled the bottle which landed in front of the barricade placed before the main gate of the Raj Bhavan and there was no damage and no one was injured.

“There was no fire…there was some flame only on the wick, the bottle fell down and broke. He was caught and he had some more bottles and these were seized,” ‘Karukka’ Vinoth, aged 42, faces 14 criminal cases and he was out on bail recently. He is a resident of Teynampet here, a City Police release said.

Vinoth was the accused in two similar incidents, including the one relating to the BJP office here over a year ago.

Within the past one week, he was freed from jail after he secured bail. Before the incident on Wednesday, he consumed liquor and he is being questioned on his motive, Sinha said.

“Only one petrol bomb was used; it did not create any impact the way the accused expected,” he said and ruled out any security lapse.

A case has been registered and the accused was remanded in custody.

Asked if he had any idea about the Governor’s ‘movement’ outside of the Raj Bhavan and whether he had come prepared anticipating any such thing, the official said ‘it does not appear to be so.’ Opposition parties strongly condemned the incident and criticised the government over ‘deterioration’ of law and order.

Leader of Opposition and AIADMK chief, Edappadi K Palaniswami said a scenario of ‘insecurity’ prevailed for the Raj Bhavan itself, meant to be a high-security campus. Expressing shock, he said the incident illustrated ‘deterioration’ of law and order in Tamil Nadu.

Former chief minister O Panneerselvam also blamed the alleged deterioration of law and order. VK Sasikala, confidante of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa said the incident was tantamount to intimidating the Governor.

BJP state president K Annamalai said on X: “Incidentally, it is the same person who attacked @BJP4TamilNadu headquarters in Chennai in Feb 2022, is held responsible for the attack on Raj Bhavan today, ” he added.

Union Minister L Murugan also slammed the DMK government vis-a-vis law and order.

A Molotov cocktail is an incendiary device, usually filled with petrol and a piece of cloth is used as a wick to light it. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chennai:

The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Saturday launched a campaign to obtain 50 lakh signatures in 50 days seeking to abolish the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

Chief Minister MK Stalin was the first to endorse the campaign, taken up by the party’s youth, students, and medical wings, with his signature and casting a postal ballot.

His son and Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who launched the initiative at Kalaivanar Arangam here, said the DMK has been striving to abolish the screening test, which has been claiming the lives of innocent students.

Displaying an egg (muttai) that in local parlance refers to zero with the letters NEET inscribed on it, Udhayanidhi ridiculed the Centre for reducing the qualifying percentile for NEET-PG to zero.

“This showed that those who don’t qualify for the NEET-PG can secure admission by paying money,” he alleged.

He called upon the political parties, especially the opposition AIADMK to put up a joint crusade against NEET.

Responding sharply to the invite, AIADMK Organising Secretary D Jayakumar lashed out at the DMK for deceiving the people on the issue.

“Now, finally the DMK has let out its secret on how to abolish the NEET in the country,” he said and added that so long as people remained gullible, the tricksters would take advantage of them.

He quoted a song from late Chief Minister M G Ramachandran’s film, which means how long will these people cheat.

“The Chief Minister had said that he would abolish NEET by a single signature. Now the people, particularly the students, are wondering if the Chief Minister and his son have forgotten to put one signature to ban NEET,” Mr Jayakumar said, ridiculing the signature campaign.

At least now the DMK should stop enacting political drama on the issue and apologise to the people for its inability, he said in a statement here. It should also give up playing with the lives of the students, the former state minister said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

DMK leaders are speaking against Sanatan Dharma with the Congress’ “endorsement” to divert attention from the “misdeeds” of the MK Stalin-led government in Tamil Nadu and disrupt peace and harmony in the country, the BJP alleged on Wednesday.

Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, the BJP’s co-in-charge for Tamil Nadu, alleged that the DMK and the Congress are trying to build a “narrative” against the BJP in view of the party’s “growing” popularity in Tamil Nadu and recognition of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s work.

Narayana Tirupathi, the vice-president of the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit, said, “One of their ministers without portfolio is in jail and this has come as a huge setback to the DMK. The DMK is totally restless. That’s why they want to divert public attention in Tamil Nadu from their misdeeds. That’s why they are talking about Sanatan Dharma, hoping to get minority votes.” “The DMK and the Congress are communal parties that are trying to disrupt peace and (communal) harmony in Tamil Nadu and in the country,” he further alleged at a press conference at the party headquarters here, adding, “The BJP is for all religions. We are not communal. They are communal.” DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin recently caused a storm after he claimed Sanatan Dharma is against social justice and that it should be eradicated.

Likening Sanatan Dharma to coronavirus, malaria and fever caused by dengue virus and mosquitoes, Udhayanidhi Stalin — the son of Chief Minister Stalin — said such things should not be opposed but destroyed.

A Raja — another DMK leader — likened Sanatan Dharma to diseases such as leprosy.

A former minister during the UPA regime, Raja also said Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remark was soft.

The BJP’s fresh attack comes on a day when the coordination committee of the opposition INDIA bloc are set to hold negotiations on the seat-sharing formula and evolving a broad outlay of campaign strategy ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The meeting of the 14-member panel will take place at the residence of NCP leader Sharad Pawar here. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chennai:

Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai on Thursday launched a scathing attack on DMK and equated the party’s name with “Dengue Malaria Kosu”.

Reacting to the remarks made by Udhayanidhi Stalin on eradicating Sanatan Dharma, K Annamalai took to X (former Twitter) and said, “If something needs eradication from Tamil Nadu, it is the DMK. D – Dengue M – Malaria K – Kosu Going forward, we are sure that people will associate these deadly diseases with DMK.”

K Annamalai targeted Tamil Nadu MK Stalin for defending his son Udhayanidhi over his Sanatan Dharma remarks.

“Sanatan Dharma predates any religion. It states that Human beings are gods, and it talks about living beings being gods. When one human brings discrimination in Sanatan Dharma another human comes and reforms. That is why we have Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Swami Sahajananda. So ill effects were brought by humans and were reformed. But your son wants to eradicate it. It shows what understanding you (MK Stalin) and your son has got about Sanatan Dharma,” he said.

Earlier today Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday said that it was unfair for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “make comments without knowing what Udhayanidhi spoke” on the ‘Sanatana Dharma’.

“While speaking at a Sanatan Eradication Conference in Chennai organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association, Udhayanidhi Stalin expressed certain comments about inhuman principles preached by Sanatan. He expressed his views on Sanatan principles that discriminate against Scheduled Castes, Tribals, and Women, with no intention to offend any religion or religious beliefs,” Mr Stalin wrote.

“Many leaders in our Indian subcontinent, such as Thanthal Periyar, Mahatma Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Narayana Guru, Vallalaar and Valkuntar, have spoken out against regressive Varnasrama – Manuvad – Sanatan ideologies, which justify discrimination based on one’s birth and the oppression of women. As an extension of that lineage, ideological arguments continue to resonate all over India against the justification of denying equal rights to the oppressed and women and exploiting them. Social scientists are well aware of this,” Mr Stalin added.

Udhayanidhi’s remark on Sanatan Dharma has sparked massive controversy across the nation. Several BJP leaders and Hindu priests have strongly criticised his statement. The BJP has demanded an apology from MK Stalin’s son. Leaders from the saffron party have also blamed the INDIA bloc for Udhayanidhi’s remark, claiming such an agenda was discussed during the recent meeting that was held in Mumbai.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Udhayanidhi Stalin, Tamil Nadu minister and son of Chief Minister MK Stalin, said on Saturday that Sanatana Dharma is against the idea of social justice and must be “eradicated”.

Mr Stalin compared Sanatana Dharma with diseases like dengue and malaria, inviting sharp criticism from BJP leaders. 

“Sanatana is like malaria and dengue and so it must be eradicated and not opposed,” he said as quoted by news agency ANI. 

The comments triggered massive backlash on social media, with many calling for a case to be filed against the Tamil Nadu minister. 

“Rahul Gandhi speaks of ‘mohabbat ki dukaan‘ but Congress ally DMK’s scion talks about eradicating Sanatana Dharma. Congress’s silence is support for this genocidal call. INDIA Alliance, true to its name, if given an opportunity, will annihilate the millennia-old civilisation that is Bharat,” BJP’s Amit Malviya posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

Udhayanidhi Stalin’s hate speech with Hindi subtitles.

Rahul Gandhi speaks of ‘मोहब्बत की दुकान’ but Congress ally DMK’s scion talks about eradicating Sanatana Dharma. Congress’s silence is support for this genocidal call…

I.N.D.I Alliance, true to its name, if given an… https://t.co/hfTVBBxHQ5pic.twitter.com/ymMY04f983

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 2, 2023

The DMK, a member of the INDIA bloc, met with other opposition leaders in Mumbai recently to streamline strategies for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where they will be contesting against the BJP-led NDA.

Mr Stalin’s remarks came at a writers’ conference in Chennai where he said Sanatana Dharma cannot be simply opposed but must be eradicated. The Tamil Nadu minister argued that the idea is inherently regressive, dividing people on the basis of caste and gender, and is fundamentally opposed to equality and social justice.

Responding to Mr Malviya’s tweet, he wrote: “I never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatans Dharma. Sanatana Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatana Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality. I stand firmly by every word I have spoken. I spoke on behalf of the oppressed and marginalized, who suffer due to the Sanatana Dharma.

I never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatan Dharma. Sanatan Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatan Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality.

I stand firmly by every word I have spoken. I spoke… https://t.co/Q31uVNdZVb

— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) September 2, 2023

“I am ready to present the extensive writings of Periyar and Ambedkar, who conducted in-depth research on Sanatana Dharma and its negative impact on society in any forum.  Let me reiterate the crucial aspect of my speech: I believe, like the spread of diseases like COVID-19, Dengue, and Malaria by mosquitoes, that Sanatana Dharma is responsible for many social evils.

“I am prepared to confront any challenges that come my way, whether in a court of law or the people’s court. Stop spreading fake news.”

K Annamalai, the state president of the BJP, accused Udhayanidhi Stalin and Chief Minister MK Stalin, of echoing the ideas of Christian missionaries.

“The only resolve that the Gopalapuram Family has is to accumulate wealth beyond the State GDP. Thiru Udhayanidhi Stalin, you, your father, or his or your idealogue have a bought-out idea from Christian missionaries and the idea of those missionaries was to cultivate dimwits like you to parrot their malicious ideology,” Mr Annamalai wrote on X.

The only resolve that the Gopalapuram Family has is to accumulate wealth beyond the State GDP.

Thiru @Udhaystalin, you, your father, or his or your idealogue have a bought-out idea from Christian missionaries & the idea of those missionaries was to cultivate dimwits like you to… https://t.co/sWVs3v1viM

— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) September 2, 2023

“Tamil Nadu is a land of spiritualism. The best you can do is to hold a Mic in an event like this and rant out your frustration!” he added.