logo
TN CM MK Stalin rejects Delhi's control over Tamil Nadu; says Dravidian model has people's mandate and will continue beyond 2026

TN CM MK Stalin rejects Delhi's control over Tamil Nadu; says Dravidian model has people's mandate and will continue beyond 2026

Time of India12-06-2025
SALEM:
Tamil Nadu
cheif minister M.K. Stalin said during a government event in Salem on Thursday that proud Tamils will never let New Delhi rule the state.
'The people endorse a Dravidian model government that can uplift Tamil Nadu despite obstacles and steer through difficulties.
This support will persist in 2026, just as it is currently,' CM Stalin said.
He was responding to Union Home Minister
Amit Shah
's recent remarks during his Madurai visit, where Shah accused the DMK government of altering Union government schemes and preventing the public from receiving benefits.
Stalin countered the claims by saying, 'However, the reality is that the state government is allocating additional funds, contending that the drinking water and housing construction initiatives cannot advance with the budget provided by the Union government.'
He added that the state government is funding over 50 percent of the cost for projects that are named after the Prime Minister. Quoting a line from the film Padayappa, Stalin remarked that just as the groom in the film wears a shirt that belongs to someone else, the state is also financing Union government projects.
He further accused the Union government of trying to suppress and undermine Tamil Nadu's heritage.
Stalin also criticised AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K.
Palaniswami (EPS), stating that the Leader of the Opposition has aligned himself with Delhi and lacks the courage to question them.
'The public is rejecting their coalition because they are marginalising Tamil Nadu with anti-Tamil Nadu sentiments and ideologies,' Stalin asserted, adding that the AIADMK and its allies are forming alliances just to safeguard their positions.
He went on to say that when the rights of Tamil Nadu were taken away, the AIADMK and its allies remained silent and did not object to what he termed as the BJP's indirect rule in the state.
'Even now, Amit Shah is openly declaring that the BJP will form a coalition, yet he (EPS) stays silent, putting his own selfish interests first,' Stalin claimed, adding that EPS has betrayed his own party. He concluded by saying the public is well aware and will not be misled into accepting EPS again.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Killing of 3 people in Billawar: Father of slain minor boy urges home minister, LG to deliver justice
Killing of 3 people in Billawar: Father of slain minor boy urges home minister, LG to deliver justice

Hindustan Times

time21 minutes ago

  • Hindustan Times

Killing of 3 people in Billawar: Father of slain minor boy urges home minister, LG to deliver justice

Nearly five months on since a 13-year-old boy and his two uncles were found dead in a rivulet in Kathua's Lohai Malhar on March 8, the family on Friday requested home minister Amit Shah and lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha to deliver justice to them. The Jammu and Kashmir Police had spotted and retrieved the bodies of three civilians from a rivulet in the upper reaches of Lohai Malhar in Kathua district. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/ Representational image) 'On March 5 our people, including my 13-year-old son, my brother Yogesh Kumar and brother-in-law Darshan Singh had left home to attend a marriage function. Enroute, they were abducted and their bodies were found in a rivulet on March 8 in Lohai Malhar area,' Chamel Singh told reporters here. 'Till date no FIR has been registered by the police, no FSL report and medical report provided to me. We are awaiting justice,' he added. Singh sought to know who will provide justice to the families of the victims. 'I lost my son, my brother and brother-in-law, who has left behind four daughters and a son,' he said. 'I want to ask our home minister and LG where I should go for justice?,' he added. A day after the bodies were recovered from Ishu Nullah, Union minister Dr Jitendra Singh had termed the deaths an act of terror. 'The brutal killing of 3 youths by terrorists in Bani area of district #Kathua is extremely sad as well as a matter of great concern. There appears to be a deep conspiracy behind spoiling the atmosphere in this peaceful area,' he wrote on X. 'We have discussed this matter with the concerned officials. The Union home secretary is reaching Jammu so that the situation can be assessed on the spot. I am confident that it will be ensured that such incidents do not happen again and the confidence of the people remains strong,' he added. The Jammu and Kashmir Police had spotted and retrieved the bodies of three civilians from a rivulet in the upper reaches of Lohai Malhar in Kathua district. The bodies were spotted with the help of a drone. Security forces suspect that terrorists have been hiding in areas like Lohai Malhar, Machedi and Badnota. On July 8 last year, five soldiers, including a JCO, were killed and five others injured after armed terrorists ambushed an army truck in Kathua district's Badnota village in Billawar tehsil.

Leaders weigh in on what OPS' exit from NDA means for TN parties
Leaders weigh in on what OPS' exit from NDA means for TN parties

Hindustan Times

time21 minutes ago

  • Hindustan Times

Leaders weigh in on what OPS' exit from NDA means for TN parties

O Panneerselvam (OPS), 74, after walking out of the NDA, for allegedly being cold shouldered by the BJP, held back to back meetings with Stalin on the day he quit the alliance and opened a dialogue channel with actor Vijay's Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) which will make its debut in the 2026 assembly elections. Leaders weigh in on what OPS' exit from NDA means for TN parties Next year's elections is poised to be a crowded affair in Tamil Nadu with the incumbent DMK's rainbow alliance intact which is part of the INDIA bloc, the AIADMK -led NDA, Tamil nationalist S Seeman's Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) and Vijay's TVK. The availability of OPS, who has a weaning vote bank of the Thevar community, a caste dominant in southern Tamil Nadu, comes at a time when there is a crisis in other smaller regional parties such as Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK). PMK, an ally of the NDA is falling apart from the inside with the father and party founder S Ramadoss in a coup taking over from his son and former Union minister Anbumani Ramadoss. The father and son hold opposing views on joining the BJP. When the AIADMK walked out of the NDA in 2023, PMK chose to stick to the national party on the insistence of junior Ramadoss while his father has said he preferred to go with the AIADMK. Now that the AIADMK is back in the NDA's fold since April,now the father and son are refusing to relent leaving the PMK in limbo. Meanwhile the DMDK which took the AIADMK's side when they parted with the BJP in 2023 has not confirmed if they will be part of the NDA after the two parties joined hands. DMDK's chief Premalatha Vijayakant too met Stalin hours before OPS on Thursday. All of them, OPS, Vijayakant and the DMK have maintained that the opposition leaders called on Stalin at his residence to enquire about his health after he was hospitalised for a week and discharged on July 27. 'I don't know why OPS met him (Stalin) but that he has left the BJP means that finally good times have begun for OPS,' said Thol Thirumavalan, MP and chief of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), an ally of the DMK who has been describing BJP's ideology as communal politics which must be discouraged. Though the TVK said that they are not speaking on alliance, close aides of OPS said that the option is on the table. 'The DMK hopes OPS will split the anti-incumbency votes as well as the Thevar votes,' a close aide of OPS said. OPS and other expelled AIADMK leaders TTV Dhinakaran and his aunt VK Sasikala also belong to the Thevar community whose votebank the BJP was keen to unite. Dhinakaran, who heads a break faction of the AIADMK, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) also joined the NDA ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. OPS and Dhinkaran came to the NDA's fold when the AIADMK had broken away from the BJP. Now that the Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) AIADMK is back, it has been an uneasy alliance since he is steadfast not to take back the trio, that he expelled, into his party and has stayed clear of them. 'OPS has been sidelined obviously with the entry of the AIADMK,' his close aide said. 'He prefers to join hands with Vijay.' A TVK leader however refuted speculation of talks between them. 'We are focussed on public outreach now,' the leader said. While TVK has offered parties a power sharing agreement and has taken on DMK as its political enemy and the BJP as its ideological enemy, Seeman's NTK has refused to tie up with any of the Dravidian majors. OPS' exit also comes days after AIADMK's Muslim face and former minister, Anwhar Raajhaa quit the party to join rival DMK saying that the AIADMK was 'trapped in the BJP's hands.' However, OPS' journey has been different to that of Raajhaa since he was the BJP's man when the AIADMK was in turbulent times after its leader J Jayalalithaa died in office. 'History knows that there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics. Things will change as elections approach,' OPS said. He should know given his tumultuous political life and constantly changing friends and foes in the AIADMK itself. OPS officiated as chief minister twice after Jayalalithaa gave him the position when she had to quit due to legal cases and her health. OPS has also acknowledged the role of RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy in his rebellion against EPS and Sasikala back in 2017. Eventually EPS and OPS joined hands and ran the government and party together as partners expelling Sasikala and Dhinakaran. In a few years, EPS expelled OPS too and he was forced to share space with Dhinakaran and Sasikala, who have been politically inactive. OPS has been unhappy with the way he has been cold shouldered by the BJP after not receiving an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was in Tamil Nadu during the July 26 weekend and previously with Union home minister Amit Shah whenever he had visited the state. 'OPS shouldn't have left when we are trying to unite to defeat the DMK,' said a BJP leader not wishing to be named. 'There is space for him and EPS in the alliance even if they don't see eye to eye.'

Do not use names of living personalities in govt ads: Madras HC
Do not use names of living personalities in govt ads: Madras HC

Hindustan Times

time21 minutes ago

  • Hindustan Times

Do not use names of living personalities in govt ads: Madras HC

The Madras high court has said that political parties cannot use names or images of any living personality, including chief ministers and ideological leaders, as well as party insignia or symbols, in government advertisements for welfare schemes. Do not use names of living personalities in govt ads: Madras HC A bench of chief justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and justice Sunder Mohan barred the inclusion of 'the name of any living personality, photographs of former chief ministers or ideological leaders,' and 'party symbols, emblems, or flags of political parties,' including those of the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, in advertisements for government welfare schemes. The bench passed the order on July 31 while hearing a petition filed by AIADMK Member of Parliament C Ve Shanmugam, who had sought an injunction against the DMK government's use of chief minister MK Stalin's name and image, as well as the images of other DMK leaders, in the State's public grievance redressal scheme 'Mudhalvarin Mugavari.' Senior counsel Vijay Narayan, who appeared for Shanmugam, told the court that using the chief minister's name and party images in a state-funded scheme violated Supreme Court directives and the Government Advertisement (Content Regulation) Guidelines, 2014. The court said that the use of such references in state-sponsored promotions did 'prima facie' violate multiple apex court rulings, including the latter's clarification issued in 2016 on the review petition filed in the case of State of Karnataka vs Common Cause. In such order, the Supreme Court had clarified that while the photograph of an incumbent chief minister may be used in official government advertisements, photographs of ideological leaders or former chief ministers will prima facie violate its earlier directives aimed at curbing political misuse of public funds, the high court said. 'It would not be permissible to mention the name of the living political personality in the nomenclature of the government scheme. Moreover, using the name of any ruling political party, its insignia/logo/emblem/flag also appears to be prima facie against the directives of the Supreme Court and the Election Commission of India,' the high court said. It said that keeping in mind the above, it was passing an order 'to the effect that while launching and operating government welfare schemes through various advertisements, the name of any living personality, photograph of any former Chief Minister/ideological leaders or party insignia/emblem/flag of respondent No.4 (DMK) shall not be included.' Opposing the plea, the state's counsel, Advocate General P S Raman, had argued that the petition relied on unauthenticated materials such as unofficial printouts, which did not represent official government publications. Raman assured the court that the government had not used the photographs of any political leaders or party symbols in its promotional materials and requested time to file a detailed affidavit along with authentic records. Senior advocate P Wilson, who was representing the DMK, told the court the petition was politically motivated. Wilson pointed out that the petitioner belonged to the opposition and alleged that the plea was an attempt to 'malign' the ruling party's image 'under the guise of public interest.' While recording that the State denied the petitioner's claims, the court emphasised the importance of adhering to the legal framework governing government publicity. The Bench said it was 'inclined to pass an interim order' given the petitioner's apprehension that more such schemes were in the pipeline. However, the court clarified that its present order did not interfere with the actual launch or implementation of any welfare scheme. 'We have not passed any order against launching, implementation or operation of welfare schemes of the government,' the bench said. The court also made it clear that the pendency of the petition will not restrain the Election Commission of India or other competent authorities from taking action on the basis of the petitioner's complaint. The court is likely to hear the matter further on August 13.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store