DMK rules out tie-up with Cong for 2014 LS polls

December 15, 2013
Chennai, Dec 15: Months after severing ties with Congress on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, DMK chief M Karunanidhi today ruled out any alliance with its former ally for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

karunanidhi

Karunanidhi made the announcement in his concluding remarks at the meeting of the party's key decision-making body, the General Council, to rapturous applause from members, reflecting the anti-Congress mood in the party ranks.

Party sources claimed that Karunanidhi hinted that DMK may not forge an alliance with BJP also but the leader himself made a non-committal reply on this.

Sources said he had indicated that BJP's present leadership was different from A B Vajpayee who had headed the NDA government of which DMK was a constituent.

"A committee has been formed and it will discuss and decide on the alliance," was his response to reporters' queries when asked if he still kept BJP as an option.

DMK sources present at the meeting said Karunanidhi ruled out a tie-up with Congress, referring to the 2G spectrum scam which has turned out to be the gravest allegation faced by DMK in many years.

Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi and junior colleague and former Telecom Minister A Raja are accused in the scam.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee, constituted to probe the matter and headed by P C Chacko (Cong) had recently tabled its report in Parliament amidst opposition from BJP, CPI and TMC which has dubbed it as "fraud".

DMK members had walked out in protest over the report. The report has given a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the scam, saying he was "misled" by the then Telecom Minister Raja. DMK has said Raja was not heard.

Earlier, the General Council granted complete authority to Karunanidhi and party General Secretary K Anbazhagan to discuss and decide alliance-related issues for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

"This General Council gives complete authority to party president, general secretary to contact alliance parties, discuss seat sharing and announce a committee to take forward alliance for the elections," the party said in a resolution.

An erstwhile ally of the Congress, DMK had snapped ties with that party in March this year over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. However it managed to drum up Congress' support for Kanimozhi during Rajya Sabha elections which she successfully contested.

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News Network
April 4,2020

New Delhi, April 4: With 355 new cases reported in the last 12 hours, India's tally of coronavirus positive cases rose to 2,902, said the ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.

Out of 2,902 cases, 2,650 are active cases and 184 have been cured or discharged or have migrated.

The total number of deaths reported due to the disease rose to 68 on Saturday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with 423 cases. Tamil Nadu is the next most affected state with 411 cases.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi also rose to 386.

The Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi has emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 after several positive cases from across India were linked to the gathering including deaths in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana.

An FIR was earlier registered against Tablighi Jamaat head Maulana Saad and others under the Epidemic Disease Act 1897, in the national capital.

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News Network
May 12,2020

Ahmedabad, May 12: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday declared state BJP minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama's election in 2017 as void on grounds of malpractice and manipulation.

Justice Paresh Upadhyay cancelled Bhupendrasinh Chudasama's election in an order passed on a petition filed by Congress candidate Ashwin Rathod, challenging the BJP leader's victory from Dholka constituency by a margin of 327 votes in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls.

In his election petition, Ashwin Rathod alleged that Bhupendrasinh Chudasama indulged in "corrupt practice and breach of many of the mandatory instructions of the Election Commission, at various stages of the election process, more particularly at the time of counting of votes".

Bhupendrasinh Chudasama currently holds charge of the education, law and justice, legislative and parliamentary affairs, and some other departments in the Vijay Rupani government.

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January 30,2020

New Delhi, Jan 30: Tension spiralled in Jamia Nagar on Thursday after a man fired a pistol at a group of anti-CAA protesters, injuring a Jamia Millia Islamia student before walking away while waving the firearm above his head and shouting "Yeh lo aazadi" amid heavy police presence in the area.

Massive protests erupted in the area after the incident with hundreds of agitated people gathering near the university, breaking barricades and clashing with police personnel.

The man, who identified himself as "Rambhakt Gopal", was subsequently overpowered by police and detained. He was taken into custody and was being interrogated, police said.

The entire drama, which triggered panic in the area, was captured by television cameras that showed the man in light coloured pants and a dark jacket, walking away on an empty road barricaded by police, turning around and shouting at the protesters in Hindi, "Here, take this freedom."

The gunman went live on Facebook before the brandishing the gun. Police said they were verifying whether it is his real name.

Before the attack, the man also put out messages on Facebook stating "Shaheen Bhag Khel Khatam" (Run Shaheen, the game is over). Another message stated, "Please wrap me in saffron in my last journey with slogans of Jai Shri Ram". His Facebook profile was deleted after screenshots of his posts were circulated widely on social media platforms.

Several students recapped how their peaceful march on Gandhi's death anniversary became violent.

"We were moving towards the Holy Family Hospital where the police had raised barricades. Suddenly, a gun-wielding man came out and opened fire. One bullet hit my friend's hand," Aamna Asif, a student of economics at the university, told PTI.

She said her friend, Shadab Farooq, a mass communication student, was trying to calm the attacker but he shot at him injuring his left hand.

Farooq, who belongs to Kashmir, was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.

Ragibh Naushad, an LLB student at the university, said, "The Jamia Coordination Committee organised a march to pay homage to Gandhi ji on his death anniversary. It started at 12 noon from Gate number 7, but police denied the permission and stopped the march near the Holy Family hospital.

"A man named Gopal, came there and started brandishing a weapon and later shot a round. He was also chanting pro-CAA slogans."

The incident led to panic in the area.

Khalid Hassan, a JMI alumnus, said initially many were not sure whether it was a gunshot or a tyre burst.

There was heavy police and media presence when the incident took place.

The students were heading from Jamia to Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat. The march was stopped at the Holy Family Hospital near the university.

Chinmoy Biswal, DCP (southeast), said the students wanted to take out a march from Jamia to Rajghat but were denied permission.

"They were being repeatedly told that the protest should be carried out peacefully. We had barricaded the road just before the Holy Family hospital. Meanwhile, a person was seen in the crowd who waved something which appeared to be a weapon."

"We have detained him and are interrogating him. One person has also been injured," Biswal said.

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