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Bharathi Kannamma, trans woman contesting for Madurai LS seat, bats for wealth ceiling

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Interview
Bharathi Kannamma hopes to root out corruption and bribery by putting a cap on the amount of wealth one can hoard.
Madurai Collectorate witnessed an extraordinary scene on Friday. A woman, dressed as Goddess Meenakshi of the famous Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple, complete with a crown and a colourful garland, had come to file her nomination papers to contest in the General Elections from Madurai constituency as an independent candidate. Fifty eight-year-old Bharathi Kannamma, a postgraduate in Sociology and a trans woman, is contesting General Elections for the second time after 2014, and this time, the independent candidate says her biggest poll promise is to bring in a wealth ceiling. Bharathi Kannamma’s three-point manifesto focuses on education, employment, and wealth regulation. “Just like how a land-ceiling came in, there must be an upper ceiling for one’s earnings as well,” she tells TNM, adding that the idea is to automatically deposit the extra earnings of a person beyond a legally mandated amount to the state exchequer. “This money can be used to provide public welfare schemes, and will increase the fund availability of the government,” Bharathi says. “If there is legally no way to hoard wealth, then why would people steal or indulge in corruption? If the efforts put in to earn wealth by unfair means end up in vain, then I don’t think anyone would engage in corruption,” she says. She also adds that such measures would help eradicate segregation in the society. Political past Bharathi Kannamma’s interest in politics was piqued when she was in college. “It was around the time I was studying BA (Economics) that I started developing an interest in politics. I read about Socrates’ political philosophy, and started practising it. This is the reason I have lasted so long in politics. I wanted to be the one who ‘came, saw, and conquered’. I motivated myself and worked towards this since a very young age,” Bharathi says. She made her first foray into politics in 2011, when she filed nomination papers to contest for the Mayor’s post in Madurai. However, her nomination was rejected by the electoral officer who had stated that a trans woman cannot contest in election. She approached the court after this and won an order against her rejection. Between 2014 and 2019 “Over the past five years, the political awareness of the people has increased multifold,” Bharathi says. “People are realising that politics is not a bed of roses, but a carpet of thorns,” she says, pointing to the Jallikattu protest in 2017 and how that became a sensation and grabbed the attention of those in power, all due to the initiative taken by youngsters. “Just like the Jallikattu protests, the political arena is also a battlefield. I am proud and happy to be a part of this,” she adds. Touching upon the various instances of religious polarisation happening in our country, Bharathi says that this was also one reason for her deciding to file her nomination papers dressed up as a god. “Along with me were two more women, one dressed as a Muslim and one as a Christian. Religion is being misused in the country a lot these days and it must be reined in. To spread that awareness only we dressed up in the way we did and filed the nomination papers,” she explains. Fighting for a social change Bharathi wants the citizens of our country to consider politics as a career option and says that it will save the political fabric of the country and lead us to better times. “Just like how every parent is proud to say that their child is a doctor or engineer, parents must be proud to tell out loud that their child is a politician. Every household should have a politician,” she says, adding that it will be a true sign of political awareness reaching grass roots. “It is only because of the reluctance of common people that scoundrels have usurped the field (of politics),” she says. She also credits her mother for everything she has earned at present. “When I came out as a trans woman to my mother when I was in college, she didn’t abandon me. On the contrary, she still treated me as her child and let me have my way in my education and life. She is no more now, but what she has done for me, I will continue to remember,” Bharathi Kannamma says.
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How Premalatha has become the de facto leader of the DMDK

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Politics
With Vijayakant's failing health in public focus, it was only natural that a second rung of leaders would have to emerge to fill the void.
On March 6, the DMDK, a party formed by actor Vijayakant, was at the receiving end of an embarrassing political blow. Members of the party had met DMK treasurer Duraimurugan in a last minute effort to secure seats in the DMK-led alliance. This, even as DMDK Deputy General secretary LK Sudhish was in talks with Union Minister Piyush Goyal to decide on the party's role in the AIADMK-BJP alliance. Not only did Duraimurugan turn them away blatantly, but he even went on to berate the DMDK, stating that the party's visit was not worth waking up DMK chief MK Stalin who was having a nap. LK Sudhish, when questioned, desperately tried his hand at damage control but all he could manage was a feeble denial of Duraimurugan's claims. And just when it seemed like the party would crumble in the media glare, his sister, Premalatha Vijayakant stepped in. Premalatha the de facto leader? In 2018, Premalatha was made the treasurer of the DMDK. But with Vijayakant's failing health in public focus, it was only natural that a second rung of leaders would have to emerge to fill the void. But any notions that LK Sudhish would be next line to take on Vijayakant's mantle was dismissed when Premalatha took the microphone on March 8."The DMK is clearly trying to take revenge on us and this is a political conspiracy," she lashed out."It is a small miscommunication and the DMK has blown it out proportion. We have always said the DMK stands for 'Thillu Mullu party'," she added. In Premalatha's aggressive stance and disregard to seniority of the leaders she was addressing, her husband and party founder Vijayakant's political flavour was clearly visible. In 2011, when he entered the assembly, he was termed a ruffian and his anger defined his politics. Ironically, Premalatha stepped into the limelight at this time to soften her husband's stance."She came into the picture to give Vijayakant an image makeover," says political commentator M Bharath. "He came to be known as very raw and instinctive as a politician and she helped tone down the roughness. It was also important to lure women into the party. But when his health began to fail, she had to very obviously step in to campaign," he adds. The need for her to come out and campaign from 2016 on wards due to Vijayakant's ill health, proved to be an opportunity for her to display her oratory skills and ability to connect with masses. Her brother, Sudhish was still considered second in line, in the party, after Vijayakant. But over time, Premalatha's stature has grown, and she has emerged the de facto leader of the party. Wife and wearer of crown Sources in the DMK and AIADMK confirm that while Sudhish may have been the one facing the cameras over the alliance talks, Premalatha was pulling the strings."They were both there for the alliance talks and she was definitely part of the decision making process," says a source in the AIADMK. "We were under pressure from the BJP to form this alliance. To us only the Vijayakant brand matters though Premalatha seems to be the de facto leader," he adds. Talking to TNM, senior journalist, Kavitha Muralidharan, points out that Premalatha has already positioned herself as the leader of the party."She and her brother are acting in tandem but she has taken up the mantle. While he is contesting she has chosen to tour the constituencies and gather support, as a leader would," she says. "But we cannot forget that the entire party is leader centric and came into existence because of Vijayakant's charisma," she adds. And this confusion reflects on the ground where the party cadre is divided over Premalatha stepping up to the throne. Not ready for change?"To us, Vijayakant is the only leader of the party," says SM Murugan, the DMDK's Coimbatore District Secretary. "It doesn't matter if  Sudhish is the face now. We are not thinking of our next leader now," he says, making it clear that no one else has hold any particular sway over the cadre. He refers to Premalatha as 'Anni', (brother's wife) and says, "Sudhish is Anni's brother and so he will be loyal to them. That is all that matters." Mohamed Ali, a DMDK member who contested the 2016 assembly elections and was witness to Premalatha's abilities to draw crowds says there is no competition."She is a better orator than Sudhish and is not scared of anyone. She speaks bravely, without fearing consequences and we saw that even recently. The alliance issues got solved only after she stepped in," he says. "When she comes to meet cadre she stays back till everyone has seen her and we believe that she will take the party in the right line. The cadre are usually very motivated by all her speeches," he adds. Murugan too admits that it was Premalatha's oratory skills that helped the party out of an embarrassing situation with DMK."But at the end of the day," says Murugan. "We are all here for our leader, Vijayakant." 
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IAF chopper helps Coimbatore corporation douse dumpyard fire that raged for 36 hours

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Environment
The Vellalore dumpyard takes in more than 700 metric tonnes of garbage every day from across the city.
The Vellalore dumpyard, extending for over 400 acres in the outskirts of Coimbatore city, witnessed one of the largest fires in recent times. The raging fire was finally contained from spreading to nearby areas using a helicopter from the Indian Air Force. The fire, which was spotted on Saturday night, continued to rage till the early hours of Monday morning as it became bigger and bigger. After 36 hours of firefighting in an area spread over 10 acres by the state Fire and Rescue services department, the government of Tamil Nadu requested for the Indian Air Force to step in. A helicopter from the Indian Air Force station in Sulur was pressed to contain the spreading of fire in the dumpyard, around 13 kilometres away from Coimbatore city. According to a release from the Indian Air Force station, Sulur, they dispatched a helicopter to the spot based on a request from the state government. “A Mi-17 V5 helicopter was immediately airborne to carry out a reconnaissance of the area for ascertaining the scope and type of fire fighting required,” read the statement. The chopper carried a ‘Bambi’ bucket of 3,500 litres capacity and sprayed water over the fire in the dumpyard. Bambi buckets are specialised aerial firefighting equipment which has a release valve in the bottom of the bucket. The bucket is suspended from the chopper and the controls for opening and closing the valve rests with the crew of the chopper. “The Bambi bucket carried by the Mi-17 V5 helicopter is capable of carrying a maximum of 3500 litres of water at a time which can be replenished with water from any water body with a depth of just two metres,” the statement said. IAF chopper involved in controlling the fire in #Vellalore dumpyard in #Coimbatore today. Watch patiently to see the chopper emptying the bucket of water from the sky. @thenewsminute pic.twitter.com/3Y8SB2G2Dl — Megha Kaveri (@meghakaveri) March 25, 2019 Speaking to TNM about the fire, IAF Sulur PRO said that the chopper was in service from 8 am to 2 pm on Monday. “The chopper flew from the water source to the spot 10 times and sprayed around 19 tonnes of water. The purpose of deploying IAF chopper was to control the spreading of the fire and that has been achieved,” he said. He also added that IAF chopper was deployed since the fire engines couldn’t really control the raging fire spread over 400 acres of dumping ground. The Coimbatore Corporation is now working to douse the smoke from the dumpyard. Speaking to TNM, a Corporation officer said that this was a regular affair in the dumpyard. “Though there is segregation of garbage at source in Coimbatore district, both the bio-degradable and non-biodegradable garbage are dumped together here. So every summer we face this issue of fire,” he said. Adding that this time around the scale of the fire was massive, the officer said that there is still a large amount of smoke coming out from the dumpyard.
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Full list of candidates of AIADMK-BJP alliance from Tamil Nadu for LS polls

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Lok Sabha 2019
The AIADMK has joined hands with the BJP for an eight-party Lok Sabha alliance, as Tamil Nadu goes to the polls on April 18.
The AIADMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu has joined hands with the BJP, the ruling party at the Centre, for an eight-party Lok Sabha alliance as the state goes to polls in less than a month. The other parties in the alliance are DMDK, PMK, Puthiya Tamilagam, Puthiya Needhi Katchi, Tamil Maanila Congress and NR Congress. With alliance talks concluding earlier this month, the AIADMK-led alliance released its seat-sharing arrangement, candidates and manifesto for the elections that will decide Tamil Nadu’s representatives at the Centre. The polling day in the state is Thursday, April 18. Here’s the full list of candidates:  1. Arakkonam - The AIADMK’s alliance partner PMK will be contesting from the Arakkonam parliamentary constituency. Representing the PMK is party Deputy General Secretary and former Union Minister for State, AK Moorthy. He had earlier been elected as MP twice from the now defunct Chengalpattu Lok Sabha constituency. 2. Arani - The AIADMK’s current Lok Sabha MP from Arani, V Elumalai, is seeking re-election from the constituency. 3. Chennai Central - The PMK’s lawyer-businessman candidate Sam Paul is contesting from the Chennai Central Lok Sabha seat. (Sam Paul, PMK) 4. Chennai North - R Mohanraj of Vijayakant's DMDK is the AIADMK-led alliance's candidate for the Chennai North constituency. He was formerly the party's MLA from Salem North. 5. Chennai South - Chennai South MP Jayavardhan Jayakumar, son of senior AIADMK leader and the state’s Minister for Fisheries D Jayakumar is seeking re-election from the constituency. (Jayavardhan Jayakumar, AIADMK) 6. Chidambaram(SC) - P Chandrasekar will be the AIADMK candidate from the Chidambaram parliamentary constituency, which is a reserved constituency. 7. Coimbatore - The alliance's candidate from Coimbatore is CP Radhakrishnan of the BJP. A former MP, he was also previously the BJP’s state chief. (CP Radhakrishnan, BJP) 8. Cuddalore - R Govindasamy of the PMK will contest from Cuddalore. 9. Dharmapuri - Current MP and former Union Minister Anbumani Ramadoss will seek re-election from the Dharmapuri Lok Sabha constituency. 10. Dindigul - PMK's K Jyothi will seek votes from the Dindigul parliamentary constituency. 11. Erode - The AIADMK’s G Manimaran is the party’s candidate from Erode. 12. Kallakurichi - DMDK Deputy General Secretary LK Sudhish, who is also party founder Vijayakant’s brother-in-law is the alliance’s candidate from here. 13. Kancheepuram(SC) - Sitting MP Maragatham Kumaravel of the AIADMK is seeking re-election from the Kancheepuram reserved constituency. (Maragatham Kumaravel, AIADMK)  14. Kanyakumari - Union Minister of State for Finance and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan, who is also the sitting Member of Parliament from Kanyakumari, is seeking re-election. (Pon Radhakrishnan, BJP) 15. Karur - Senior AIADMK leader and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai, is once again the party’s candidate from Karur. (M Thambidurai, AIADMK) 16. Krishnagiri - Senior party leader KP Munusamy, who was part of the AIADMK's core committee to engage in seat-sharing talks, is the party’s candidate from here. 17. Madurai - Son of AIADMK’s Madurai North MLA and Secretary of the AIADMK’s IT Wing, VVR Raj Sathyan has been given the ticket to the Madurai parliamentary constituency. (VVR Raj Sathyan, AIADMK) 18. Mayiladuthurai - The AIADMK’s S Asaimani is contesting from here. 19. Nagapattinam(SC) - The AIADMK's M Saravanan is contesting from the Nagapattinam reserved constituency. 20. Namakkal - AIADMK’s P Kaliappan is contesting from Namakkal. 21. Nilgiris(SC) - M Thiagarajan is the AIADMK’s candidate from the reserved constituency of Nilgiris. 22. Perambalur - The AIADMK's former state minister NR Sivapathy is the candidate here.  23. Pollachi - AIADMK MP C Mahendran is seeking re-election from his current constituency of Pollachi. 24. Ramanathapuram - The BJP’s Nainar Nagendran is contesting from Ramanathapuram. Nagendran, a former AIADMK MLA from Tirunelveli had left the party in 2017, following the infighting in the aftermath of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's death. (Nainar Nagendran, BJP) 25. Salem - KRS Saravanan, the AIADMK’s zonal secretary from Salem North, is contesting the parliamentary seat from the district. 26. Sivaganga - BJP National Secretary H Raja is contesting from the Sivaganga parliamentary constituency. 27. Sriperumbudur - A Vaithilingam of the PMK is the party’s candidate from the Sriperumbudur Lok Sabha constituency. 28. Tenkasi(SC) - Dr K Krishnaswamy, founder and chief of the Puthiya Tamilagam is contesting from the Tenkasi reserved constituency. The party, which caters largely to Devendra Kula Vellalar community, would be contesting on the AIADMK’s ‘two leaves’ symbol. 29. Thanjavur - NR Natarajan of GK Vasan’s Tamil Maanila Congress is contesting from the Thanjavur parliamentary constituency. The party will be contesting on the 'cycle' symbol allotted to them by the Election Commission. 30. Theni - Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister and AIADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam’s son, P Raveendranath Kumar will be making his electoral debut as the party’s candidate from the Theni parliamentary constituency. 31. Thiruvallur(SC) - AIADMK MP P Venugopal is seeking re-election from the Thiruvallur reserved constituency. 32. Thoothukudi - BJP state President Tamilisai Soundararajan is contesting from the Thoothukudi parliamentary constituency. This will be the leader's second parliamentary bid. Her candidature for the BJP from the Chennai North constituency in 2009 had been unsuccessful. 33. Tiruchirapalli - The DMDK's presidium chairman Dr V Ilangovan will contest from Trichy. 34. Tirunelveli - Paul Manoj Pandian, former MLA from the now non-existent Cheranmadevi assembly constituency and son of former AIADMK MLA PH Pandian, is the party's candidate from Tirunelveli. 35. Tiruppur - Former minister and Tiruppur North MLA, MSM Anandan, is contesting from the Tiruppur parliamentary constituency. 36. Tiruvannamalai - Former state minister ‘Agri’ SS Krishnamoorthy has been given the AIADMK’s Tiruvannamalai ticket. 37. Vellore - Puthiya Needhi Katchi founder AC Shanmugam will contest from Vellore. The businessman is also the chancellor of the Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute. 38. Villupuram(SC) - Senior PMK leader Vadivel Ravanan will be contesting from the Villupuram reserved constituency. 39. Virudhunagar - Senior DMDK leader R Azhagarsamy will be contesting from Virudhunagar. 40. Puducherry(Union Territory) - Newbie politician K Narayanasamy of the NR Congress will contest from the lone Puducherry parliamentary constituency. A doctor by profession, Narayanasamy's father was the government whip of the union territory's Legislative Assembly.  
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Justice CS Karnan to contest LS polls from Central Chennai

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Lok Sabha 2019
He filed nominations for Anti Corruption Dynamic Party which he floated in 2018.
Former Madras High Court Judge Justice CS Karnan will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Chennai. Justice Karnan, who had been a judge in the Calcutta and Madras High Courts, floated his own party called the ‘Anti Corruption Dynamic Party’ in May 2018. He filed his nominations for Central Chennai seat on Monday. In an interview to Bar and Bench, Justice Karnan said his “focus will be to expose corruption in the government and the judiciary”. Earlier, he was quoted in the media saying that he will field only women, barring himself, in all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies in 2019. Justice Karnan had previously acted as a booth agent for the AIADMK in the past, including the 2002 Assembly polls, but later became a Congress sympathiser. Brush with controversy Karnan’s first brush with controversy was when, as a judge in the Madras High Court, he started suo motu contempt proceedings against Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, the then Chief Justice of the Madras HC, in 2015. In February 2016, he again accused Kaul of corruption, following which, he was transferred to the Calcutta High Court. In January 2017, Justice Karnan wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, which included "an initial list" of 20 sitting judges of both the Supreme Court and High Courts, levelling corruption allegations against them. This led to the Supreme Court issue against the sitting judge. Former Justice Karnan is the only judge to be sentenced to six months of imprisonment for contempt of court by the Supreme Court, in May 2017.   Prior to this, he had alleged caste-based harassment in 2011 at the behest of other judges at the Madras High Court, to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC). In 2014, during a PIL hearing on the issue of appointment of judges, he claimed that the procedure of appointment was unfair.   Who is Justice Karnan Born in a poor Dalit family at Karnatham village in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu in 1955, he went onto study law at Madras Law College after finishing his undergraduate from New College in Chennai. He became a lawyer and started practising as an advocate of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1983. In his career as a lawyer, he was an advisor for the Tamil Nadu Metro Water department and appeared as a government advocate in civil suits and as standing counsel for the central government in Madras HC.  In 2009, he was nominated as a judge of the Madras High Court, where he served until he was transferred to the Calcutta High Court in February 2016.  
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Justice CS Karnan to contest Lok Sabha polls from Central Chennai

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Lok Sabha 2019
He filed nominations for Anti Corruption Dynamic Party which he floated in 2018.
Former Madras High Court Judge Justice CS Karnan will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Chennai. Justice Karnan, who had been a judge in the Calcutta and Madras High Courts, floated his own party called the ‘Anti Corruption Dynamic Party’ in May 2018. He filed his nominations for Central Chennai seat on Monday. In an interview to Bar and Bench, Justice Karnan said his “focus will be to expose corruption in the government and the judiciary”. Earlier, he was quoted in the media saying that he will field only women, barring himself, in all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies in 2019. Justice Karnan had previously acted as a booth agent for the AIADMK in the past, including the 2002 Assembly polls, but later became a Congress sympathiser. Brush with controversy Karnan’s first brush with controversy was when, as a judge in the Madras High Court, he started suo motu contempt proceedings against Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, the then Chief Justice of the Madras HC, in 2015. In February 2016, he again accused Kaul of corruption, following which, he was transferred to the Calcutta High Court. In January 2017, Justice Karnan wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, which included "an initial list" of 20 sitting judges of both the Supreme Court and High Courts, levelling corruption allegations against them. This led to the Supreme Court issue against the sitting judge. Former Justice Karnan is the only judge to be sentenced to six months of imprisonment for contempt of court by the Supreme Court, in May 2017.   Prior to this, he had alleged caste-based harassment in 2011 at the behest of other judges at the Madras High Court, to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC). In 2014, during a PIL hearing on the issue of appointment of judges, he claimed that the procedure of appointment was unfair.   Who is Justice Karnan Born in a poor Dalit family at Karnatham village in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu in 1955, he went onto study law at Madras Law College after finishing his undergraduate from New College in Chennai. He became a lawyer and started practising as an advocate of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1983. In his career as a lawyer, he was an advisor for the Tamil Nadu Metro Water department and appeared as a government advocate in civil suits and as standing counsel for the central government in Madras HC.  In 2009, he was nominated as a judge of the Madras High Court, where he served until he was transferred to the Calcutta High Court in February 2016.  
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2007 Dinakaran office arson case: DSP gets four years for not acting against the attackers

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Crime
On Thursday, the High Court had convicted 10 persons in connection with the attack on Dinakaran newspaper office in Madurai, which left three employees dead.
The Madras High Court has ordered four years rigorous imprisonment for the then DSP V Rajaram in the 2007 Dinakaran newspaper office attack. The Madurai bench of the court awarded the punishment on Monday to V Rajaram, who was the Deputy Superintendent of Police at the time of the incident, for failing to act against the attackers. On Thursday, the court had convicted 10 persons, including ‘Attack’ Pandi, a close aide of MK Alagiri, and had ordered life imprisonment for nine convicts. The tenth convict was V Rajaram, who was directed to appear in the court on Monday for the pronouncement of his sentence. In the court, Rajaram claimed that he was made a scapegoat and requested for a minimum punishment. The CBI had charged 17 persons in the case of which 10 were convicted by the High Court. While six others were acquitted in the case, another accused died during the course of the trial. The court, on Thursday, had also ordered the state government to award a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the employees who lost their lives in the attack. Madurai’s Dinakaran press office was attacked after the newspaper published two surveys. While one of the surveys claimed Dayanidhi Maran to be the most effective union minister from Tamil Nadu, the other one claimed MK Stalin was Karunanidhi’s heir. The second survey also gave minimal votes for Karunanidhi’s other children MK Alagiri and Kanimozhi Karunanidhi. On May 9, 2007, a mob hurled petrol bombs at the Dinakaran office in the outskirts of Madurai, which left three employees dead. The survey caused major rift between the family of Karunanidhi and Maran, which led to Dayanidhi Maran being forced to step down from his ministerial post. After the attack, Karunanidhi had also given a clean chit to his son MK Alagiri. The families reconciled a few months later.
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'VVIP' Thambidurai eats into Cong contestant Jothimani's nomination time, delays her

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Lok Sabha 2019
The incident happened on Monday at the Karur Collectorate over the delay in filing of nomination papers for Jothimani.
Tension prevailed at the Karur Collectorate on Monday noon as the police and DMK workers were caught in an argument. The altercation was apparently over the delay in filing of nomination papers for Congress candidate Jothimani. In a video footage of the incident which is going viral on social media, the police are seen pushing Senthil Balaj, with both of them arguing as Jothimani watches on. She then asks the policeman on duty why Thambidurai had come to file nomination papers during the time allocated to her. “The one who is inside is not an MP. He is a candidate and so am I. We are waiting for half an hour here,” she is seen saying. Senthil Balaji is a former AIADMK MLA from the region, who recently crossed over to the DMK.  According to one of Jothimani’s personal staff members, the argument ensued when AIADMK candidate M Thambidurai reached the District Collector’s office at the time slot allotted to Jothimani, to file his papers. “We were given the slot between 12 noon to 1pm to file the nomination papers. When we reached the Collectorate at the given time, we were made to wait and the police allowed Thambidurai inside at around 12.05pm. This led to an argument between us and the police, who were supporting Thambidurai,” he said. The altercation lasted upto half an hour after which Jothimani filed her nomination papers with the Collector. Yesterday when Congress candidate Jothimani went to Karur collectorate to file nomination papers. She was made to wait outside despite her being there on the time allotted to her. Reason? AIADMK candidate Thambidurai was filing his papers in her time. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/6Yfmp43Kpf — Megha Kaveri (@meghakaveri) March 26, 2019 Karur constituency, from where Lok Sabha deputy speaker and AIADMK senior leader M Thambidurai is an MP, is all set to witness a face-off between him and Congress leader Jothimani this year. While Thambidurai has been elected as the MP from Karur four times between 1989 and 2014, Jothimani had contested in the 2011 assembly election against then AIADMK leader V Senthil Balaji from Karur, and in 2014 general elections against M Thambidurai. Tamil Nadu will vote on April 18 in 39 parliamentary constituencies and 18 assembly constituencies and the filing of nominations began on March 19. With Tuesday being the last date for filing nominations for both the elections, a good number of prominent candidates across the state filed their nominations on Monday. With the AIADMK and BJP teaming up for the Lok Sabha polls, DMK has joined hands with Congress.
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Visiting the iconic Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, Madurai's prized 17th century palace

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History
Completed in 1636, the palace faces maintenance challenges but will soon get a make-over.
The Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, Madurai’s prized possession, sits facing a line of tea shops and a few other stores on Panthadi First Street. If you aren’t specifically headed to the Mahal, you might actually miss this 17th-century palace while driving through this permanently hot south Indian city. This road that leads to the Mahal was once part of the agazhi (trench) that ran around the palace, we’re later told. Remains that indicate the palace’s original size can be found even today. “The pathu thoon sandhu that lies 50 metres north from the palace walls is a testament to the fact that it was indeed bigger in its original form,” says TN Archaeological Department’s Assistant Director (AD) Sakthivel who was previously its curator. Although a modest entrance to its grandeur, Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal’s reputation brings in thousands of visitors even today, both local and foreign. “In a month, we get about 3000 to 4000 visitors,” says the AD. Through the stone archway, the palace opens up to a huge sunlit courtyard, now occupied by rows of iron chairs. The Mahal is marked by elaborate geometric designs in colourful paints on its ceilings, with motifs of snakes, yali, strangely metamorphosed animals and celestial maidens springing forth from atop the pillars, while a lone throne with dark red upholstery dusty from years of unuse sits empty, facing the wide courtyard from the cool, dark raised platform.  The palace offers relief from Madurai’s fiercely hot streets, but the sight we experience today is surely different from what the palace was, close to 400 years ago.  Inside, the Mahal houses a museum, a quaint room that was earlier the drama hall with stained glass windows high up on the walls. The history While archaeological references to the Mahal in the form of inscriptions do not exist, the earliest mention of it can be found in the book called Madurai Kovil Thiruppani aka Thiruppani Maalai says AD Sakthivel. This Mahal, which was completed in 1636, has unverified accounts of having had an Italian architect. The text throws light on some of the materials that were used in its construction - shell lime (sunnambu) and jaggery smoothed over bricks with a paste of harde whole (Kadukkai), gooseberry and belleric (Thandrikkai), resulting in a structure that remains unshaken. Yet, when the Mahal was taken over by the Britishers in the 19th century, it was in a near dilapidated condition, having lost its sheen. The pari-madhil, outer walls, had collapsed during the 1860 Vaigai floods and were later torn down. It was Lord Napier, the then Governor of Madras, who in 1858 did everything he could to restore the building to what we see today. “He spent Rs 2 lakhs, over Rs 20 crores in today’s value, in renovating the palace. Mr Chisholm, the government architect, was assigned to look over renovations to the palace. The Mahal’s white plaster was Napier’s doing. The pillars stood in granite before that. The entire Mahal’s size was four times bigger than what we see today,” says Sakthivel. The Mahal has a total of 248 12-ft wide pillars, some rising up to a height of 48 feet. It primarily consisted of two parts, the Swargavilasa and the Rangavilasa. Besides these, it also had a theatre, a temple, queen's apartment, armoury, building for housing palanquins, royal bandstands, pond, gardens and more quarters for guests and palace servants. Parts of the palace, especially the Rangavilasa, were torn down by Thirumalai’s grandson Chokkanatha Nayak, with an intent of re-shifting the palace back to Trichy - their capital before Madurai. The Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal housed various public offices. District courts functioned from here up until 1970 and it became a state monument only in 1971. Fighting graffiti and pigeon poop “Anyone who comes to Madurai is keen to write about the Nayakkar Mahal but the truth is there are so many other lesser known beauties. The Ramanathapuram Palace, in fact, is quite under-appreciated,” says Sakthivel. While we make a mental note to visit this palace next, we bring up the unavoidable question. What can be done to maintain the building, a state level monument, better? “We have three important plans coming up. As part of Tamil Nadu Government’s Smart City project, there’s landscaping being done behind the palace. When this is turned into a garden, the Mahal will have a better look. Secondly, we are planning for a general facelift and for this, we are awaiting funds from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Thirdly, there are CSR funds set aside for sprucing up the general atmosphere of the palace. This will include the library for Ph.D scholars and facelifting the drama theatre and open sculpture garden,” shares Sakthivel. Up until a few years ago, 2011 to be specific, the Mahal was also used by filmmakers. The ‘Kannalane’ song in Mani Ratham’s Bombay, for instance, was shot here. Pointing out that the pillars with millions of graffiti will also be cleaned as part of the facelift, Sakthivel rues the lack of awareness among people to treasure a heritage site such as this."Madurai has a great wealth of rock-cut caves and monuments of historical value. On my field trips, I regularly find trash and signs of vandalism in these heritage sites. It takes us hours of hard manual labour to clear these damages and sometimes, it is disheartening to see such scribbles crop up again in a matter of days. It is not practically possible to man or guard every inch of these heritage buildings. People will have to be more aware of their responsibilities,” he points out. While the Mahal is currently maintained by a crew of 18, half its ideal size, Sakthivel tells us that with more people, things might become more smooth. The TN government has also sent out a tender, calling for renovation of a select few heritage monuments and this includes the Thirumalai Nayakkar Palace. The rest of the heritage sites that are being considered for renovation include: Udhayagiri Fort at Puliyurkurichi village in Kalkulam Taluk of Kanyakumari district, Kattabomman Fort at Panchalankurichi village in Ottapidaram Taluk of Tuticorin district, Manora Fort at Sarabendra Raja Pattinam in Pattukottai Taluk of Thanjavur district, Dutch Tomb at Nagapattinam village and district, and Marudhupandiyar Fort at Aranmanai Siruvayal village in Karaikudi Taluk of Sivagangai district. Another challenge that the palace fights today is in the form of a notorious grey-winged avian, the message-carriers of lore - the pigeons. Bring them up and a tired smile spreads across Sakthivel’s face. “Ah well, they are beyond our scope. We’ve tried many ideas, some suggested to us by foreign tourists. None of them work for more than a month. They come back with more vigour. It is impossible to rid the palace of their poop. Things get worse when it rains and when the stench gets very strong. For now, we have no solution for these birds,” he says. Perhaps Thirumalai knew what to do? We wonder.
Body 2: 

The Anti-Federal Law? Why TN parties want Article 356 to be scrapped

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Lok Sabha 2019
Both the AIADMK and the DMK have called for the scrapping of Article 356 in their manifestos for the Lok Sabha polls.
The two major Dravidian parties in the state, the AIADMK and the DMK, released their manifestos last week, in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections. Strikingly, the arch rivals agreed on several policy points, word for word in many places. Notably, both parties called for the removal of Article 356 of the Indian Constitution, a law that is absent from other federal systems across the world, they said. “Continuing such a draconian provision brings discredit to India, the largest democracy in the world,” added the DMK manifesto. So what is Article 356 and why do the two major political parties in Tamil Nadu find it problematic? Article 356 of the Constitution states that the President of India can take control of a state, if the President is convinced that the state government machinery has broken down and cannot function as is. The emergency provision, also known as the President’s rule, is then imposed. “...the President may by Proclamation… assume to himself all or any of the functions of the Government of the State and all or any of the powers vested in or exercisable by the Governor or any body or authority in the State other than the Legislature of the State,” states the law. While the President may declare that powers, normally vested with the legislature, be exercised by or under the authority of Parliament, they also have the authority to suspend any provisions of the Constitution relating to agencies or authorities in the state. Despite the law providing that provisions of the Article will cease to operate within two months, a resolution passed by both Houses of Parliament could extend this. While the Constitution itself allows for a variety of conditions under which the Article may be invoked, both Dravidian majors are opposed to the law which enables the dismissal of elected state governments. The law has been invoked in Tamil Nadu four times. It was first imposed during the Emergency declared by the then-PM Indira Gandhi’s government, which dismissed then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s government on charges of corruption in 1976. Just three years later, when the Indira Gandhi government allied with the DMK in 1980, then-Chief Minister MG Ramachandran's government, too, was dismissed. Soon after the death of MGR, his wife, Janaki Ramachandran, took over as the leadership of the party as well as the Chief Ministership with a faction of the party's support. After she won what was considered a controversial vote on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, PM Rajiv Gandhi's government invoked Article 356 to dismiss the administration. The President's rule was invoked, once again, against the majority Karunanidhi government in 1991, over allegations that DMK leaders had been associated with the LTTE. Speaking to TNM, A Saravanan, lawyer and spokesperson of the DMK explains that this is a draconian law, unique to the Indian state. “In any Federal Structure, there is a fixed tenure for an elected government. For example, in the US, there are provisions to impeach a Governor but the elected government cannot be cut short. This is an extraordinary power given to the central government in this country. It is the states that make up the Indian government, the Centre is not omnipotent. In a truly Federal Structure, why should we have this law?” he says. In 1994, the Supreme Court instituted further stringent safeguards to prevent the widespread use and misuse of the law in the SR Bommai v. Union of India case. However, this does not justify the existence of the law, says Saravanan. “When provided with such a draconian power, the Centre will and has abused it,” he says.
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6-year-old girl’s body found in Coimbatore, rape and murder suspected

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Crime
Relatives of the victim took to the streets on Tuesday to allege police inaction as they are yet to zero in on suspects.
At a time when Coimbatore district is still is reeling from the news of the sexual assault and blackmail of multiple women in the district, another shocking case has come to the fore. A 6-year-old girl from the district has allegedly been raped and murdered on Monday. Her body was found close to her residence on Tuesday morning. According to the police, the victim had gone to play with her friends outside her home after school on Monday evening. At around 6 pm, her parents who were expecting her back home realised that she was missing. They immediately began to search for the child in the neighbourhood and when initial efforts did not help, they approached the local police station. A team of police officers then joined the search operations that went on till the wee hours of Tuesday morning."But it was around 7.30 am the next day when we found the girl's body at an alley near her residence," says Mani, the DSP who was at the spot where the body was found. "Her clothes were in a state of disarray and the child seems to have been roughed up. We are suspecting that there could be internal injuries as well. Whether she was raped and the exact cause of death could not be determined by the naked eye. We have sent the body to the government hospital for the autopsy," he added. The family of the victim and residents of the locality began protesting outside the government hospital on Tuesday afternoon, alleging police inaction in finding the culprit. The agitation was led by the victim’s mother. “I searched everywhere for my child. She only plays around this locality and doesn’t go anywhere else,” the mother told the media. “When we found her there were wounds all over her body and so much blood. We still don’t know who did this,” she added. The demonstrators later dispersed after the police assured them that the investigation was underway and necessary action will be taken. "We believe it was someone known to the girl and from the neighbourhood. We are conducting the probe as of now," says the DSP. "Once the autopsy reports are in we can confirm the exact nature of the crime."  
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No pressure cooker, but TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK candidates will get a common symbol

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Lok Sabha 2019
Dhinakaran has so far not registered AMMK as a party – and so, the question was whether they could collectively fight under one symbol.
PTI
TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) will be able to contest as one group, with one symbol – although they have not registered themselves as a political party so far. The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Election Commission of India to allot a common symbol to the candidates contesting under the AMMK banner in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and Tamil Nadu bye-polls. However, the pressure cooker symbol under which TTV Dhinakaran won the RK Nagar bye-poll last year is unlikely to be allotted to them, as several others may have asked for it in different constituencies. Despite launching his party in March last year, RK Nagar MLA TTV Dhinakaran has not registered AMMK with the Election Commission yet since this would mean giving up claim over the two leaves symbol. Less than a month earlier, the Delhi High Court had ruled that the ‘two-leaves’ symbol belonged to the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, dismissing Dhinakaran’s plea. Following this, Dhinakaran petitioned the Supreme Court, seeking the pressure cooker symbol for his outfit in the upcoming elections. Refusing Dhinakaran’s request, the apex court bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna asked why the year-old party had not registered with the Election Commission, citing Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which states, “Any association or body of individual citizens of India calling itself a political party and intending to avail itself of the provisions of this Part shall make an application to the Election Commission for its registration as a political party for the purposes of this Act.” However, arguing on behalf of Dhinakaran, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that registering the party would mean giving the AIADMK a ‘walkover’ on their claim to the two-leaves symbol. According to AMMK, the SC then said that AMMK can get one of the 192 free symbols available with the EC, in order to ensure a level playing field. However, candidates who emerge successful at the ballot would be considered independents, the court said. Speaking to reporters outside the Supreme Court, Raja Senthoor Pandian, a member of Dhinakaran’s legal team, said, “The Election Commission countered that many may have sought the pressure cooker symbol earlier. On account of this we discussed with the senior lawyers and argued for any common symbol since we have to contest the elections.” While his legal team considered the SC verdict a victory, it may be worth noting that this would make it easier for his candidates to shift loyalties if they are voted in as MLAs and MPs. Seventeen of the 18 bye-polls due in the state are on account of these MLAs being disqualified by the Madras High Court in October last year under the Anti Defection Law for declaring their support to TTV Dhinakaran. Dhinakaran has announced poll candidates for all 39 Parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu as well as the 18 bye-poll segments.
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Husband won't let me meet my eldest child: TN HIV+ blood transfusion victim tells HC

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Court
The woman was given HIV positive blood during a transfusion at a government hospital in Sattur, Virudhnagar district, in December 2018.
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The woman who was transfused with HIV infected blood last year in Tamil Nadu is now alleging that her husband is not allowing her to meet her eldest child because she is HIV positive. The woman, who was pregnant then, had been given HIV infected blood at a government hospital in Virudhunagar district. The issue came to light when the woman appeared before Justices N Kirubakaran and SS Sundar of the Madurai bench of Madras High Court on Monday. She told the judges that her husband did not allow her to meet her eldest child since she contracted the virus, causing her mental agony. Noting this, the judges ordered that sufficient counselling be given to her husband to address this issue. The judges added that the woman has to be provided with own house and a government job as per her educational qualification. Her compensation must be deposited in a bank and arrangements must be made to enable her to live off the interest that the deposit generates. The judges also ordered the woman’s husband and their eldest child to appear in the court on March 27 for the next hearing. This happened when the court was hearing a petition filed by Appasamy and Muthukumar from Madurai demanding that the state government fill up the vacancies in the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS) and grant proper treatment and compensation to the woman who was infected by the wrongful blood transfusion.  The petition also wanted the court to order the government to be careful with blood transfusions and ensure that such processes are carried out in a sterile environment with sterile equipment. The judges, in an earlier hearing, had ordered the affected woman to appear before them in private on Monday. The woman was infected with HIV last December. The incident sparked substantial outrage in Tamil Nadu, compelling a government inquiry into the matter. The woman who was infected gave birth to a girl child in January. Recently, an HIV test was conducted on the baby and it returned clear.
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How long has former AIADMK functionary ‘Bar’ Nagaraj known about Pollachi racket?

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Nagaraj has been accused of threatening the Pollachi sexual assault complainant’s brother, at the behest of main accused Thirunavukkarasu.
Remember the video of Pollachi sexual assault and extortion case accused Thirunavukkarasu and Sabarirajan (alias Riswandh) being confronted by the complainant’s brother and his friends? “All of us – me, Sathish, Nagaraj – beat Sabarirajan up and took it from him,” Thirunavukkarasu says. When asked to clarify what they had taken from Sabari, Thirunavukkarasu says they had taken Sabari’s videos with various women from him. Now, a new video has surfaced of one of the men named by Thirunavukkarasu – Nagaraj, also known as ‘Bar’ Nagaraj, a man who was fired from the AIADMK for allegedly assaulting the Pollachi case survivor’s brother at Thirunavikkarasu’s behest. And in this video, Nagaraj himself reveals that he has known about Sabarirajan and Thirunavukkarasu’s activities for a while now. Claiming he hadn’t revealed this incident so far to protect the identity of another one of Sabarirajan’s victims, Nagaraj says, “There’s a guy who is a close friend of mine in my area. One day he came to my house and told me that a man named Sabari, also known as Riswandh, had taken a nude or morphed picture of his sister. I immediately told him that we can go to the police. But he resisted, stating that the family is looking for marriage alliances for his sister and hence they did not want to go to the police. He wanted me to call Sabarirajan and delete the photo from his cell phone.” “I called Sabari, threatened him, and took his phone. In that phone, there was one photo and two videos. I deleted it right there. I deleted in front of the man (Nagaraj’s friend) – I asked him if the photos were his [sister’s] and deleted it right there. We then gave him Sabari his phone back and sent him away,” Nagaraj says. “The next day, Thirunavukkarasu went to Sabari and said, let’s recover the deleted videos and photo. Another man who was with them then called me and told me that the photo I had deleted the day before was recovered by Thirunavukkarasu and he had copied it onto his phone,” he says. “I called Thirunavukkarasu and warned him, I told him not to do this unnecessarily and to delete the photo if it was with him. I told him she’s a girl who lives here, it’ll become a big issue. Don’t do this with women. Thirunavukkarasu that the video was of a very close relative of his, and that’s why he went to Sabari to see it. I then told him to delete it immediately if he had it or the girl’s family will go to the [police] station. He said he didn’t have the video and that issue ended right there,” the sacked AIADMK functionary says. Referring to the video of Thirunavukkarasu where he names Nagaraj, he says, “If you pay attention to what he said – ‘Me and Nagaraj beat up Sabari and took his videos.’ The reason is – because he wanted to escape, he blamed Sabari.” Questions for Nagaraj Nagaraj’s video is a clear attempt to absolve himself of any link to the case, and to portray himself as someone trying to protect another victim of Sabarirajan. Even if Nagaraj’s version of events is taken at face value, there are several questions that he needs to answer. Nagaraj says he asked his friend to check if the photo and videos he deleted from Sabarirajan’s phone were those of his sister. Does that mean there were other videos and photos of other women that the then-AIADMK functionary ignored? If Nagaraj was approached by his close friend, how did he not question Thirunavukkarasu’s claim that the girl was his relative? If this was Nagaraj’s only encounter with Thirunavukkarasu, why would the main accused in the Pollachi sexual assault and extortion case name Nagaraj in the video out of the blue? Did Nagaraj not feel the need to monitor Sabarirajan’s activities? Is his concern for women limited to only women he knows? Also read: What is the Pollachi sexual assault and extortion case: A detailed explainer 
Body 2: 

Chennai man, his 2 sons and 3 others die after inhaling toxic gas in septic tank

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Death
Of the six men, two were tenants in the building and one was a gas cylinder supply person. All of them had rushed to help.
The death of six men, including three from the same family and a well-meaning passerby by inhaling poisonous gases from a septic tank has left the people of Sriperumbudur in the outskirts of Chennai in a state of shock. Krishnamoorthy (55), his wife and two sons Kannan (28) and Karthik (26) lived in Nemili Selvaperumal Nagar in Sriperumbudur. While the family lived on one of the floors, Krishnamoorthy had let the other portions in the building to other families for rent. Since this part of Sriperumbudur is yet to get underground drainage system, it was routine for Krishnamoorthy to make sure that the septic tank in his building was emptied at least once in few days. It was going to be no different this time either. On Tuesday morning, as usual Krishnamoorthy had employed a sewage tanker to empty the septic tank. After the tanker lorry left, Krishnamoorthy spotted a small area inside the tank which required further cleaning and hence he got inside the tank to do it himself. As Kannan and Karthik watched, Krishnamoorthy fell unconscious within the tank. Karthik rushed inside the tank to get his father to respond and he also fainted inside the tank. Kannan, hoping to revive his brother and father, jumped into the tank and fell unconscious too. Watching the disastrous scene unfold in front of their eyes, Krishnamoorthy’s family shouted for help and two of their tenants – Suradhabhai (28) and Paramasivam (32) – came running to help the three men. The two men, who also got inside the septic tank, fainted, taking the tally to five. Hearing the cries of the families of the men, Lakshmikanthan, who was delivering gas cylinder nearby, rushed to their help. The 22-year-old lad jumped into the tank to rescue the men but he also succumbed to the gases inside the tank. Unable to believe what they were seeing, the neighbours and others who were nearby alerted the police, fire station and the ambulance. A fire engine reached the spot and pulled out all six men from the tank, but they were all reportedly dead by then. The Fire Department personnel also cleaned the poisonous tank with foam and sealed it shut. Speaking to TNM about the incident Bezwada Wilson, the Founder and National Convenor of the Safai Karamchari Andholan (SKA) said that people set out to do such things due to lack of awareness about the technology available to clean septic tanks. “I would hold the state responsible for such deaths. People dying itself must bother us and it should not matter if they were actually manual scavenging workers or building owners who died while doing similar work,” he added. The police registered an FIR under section 174 CrPC and sent all six bodies for autopsy to the government hospital in Sriperumbudur. 
Body 2: 

TN records country’s highest seizure of cash, liquor worth Rs 107.24 cr before polls

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Elections
Uttar Pradesh comes a close second with Rs 104.53 crore, while Andhra Pradesh rounds off top three with Rs 103.4 crore.
Image for representation
With less than a month left to go for elections in Tamil Nadu, data has now emerged that the state tops the country with the highest seizure in cash, liquor, drugs, and precious metals since the model code of conduct came into effect on March 10. Tamil Nadu stands first with a total of Rs 107.24 crore, almost one-fifth of the Rs 540 crore seized from across the country as of March 25. Uttar Pradesh comes a close second with Rs 104.53 crore while Andhra Pradesh rounds off the top three with Rs 103.4 crore. Punjab comes fourth with Rs 93.8 crore seizure value. The fall in numbers is fairly steep after these four states, with Karnataka at Rs 26.53 crore seizure, making it the fifth in line. Sikkim comes last in the country with its total seizure value at Rs. 0.027 crore, only in the form of liquor. In a press note issued by Election Commission, the value of seized amounts have been split between cash, liquor, drugs/narcotics, precious metals and freebies. Tamil Nadu’s highest seizure comes in the form of precious metals such as gold and silver that amounts to around Rs 68 crores. According to the Times of India, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said in reference to Tamil Nadu, “Total cash seized is Rs 38.25 crore and gold seizure is around 209 kg (Rs 68 crore). Apart from cash and gold, we have also seized 318 kg of silver bars and ornaments as well as 330 zinc bars. Value of silver articles seized is around Rs 18 lakh.” A total of 35 cases under Section 171 of the IPC have been filed against party cadres for such violations. In Andhra Pradesh, however, the cash seized amounts to Rs 55 crore, the highest in this category across the country. TN’s cash seizure stands at Rs 36.6 crore while in AP, precious metals seized are valued at Rs 30 crore. Among other south Indian states, seizure in Telangana amounts to Rs 8.21 crore. No data has been made available for Kerala. Of the Rs 540 crore seized by different enforcement agencies across the country, precious metals stand first at Rs 162.93 crore and cash comes in second at Rs 143.47 crore.
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Kanimozhi declares assets of Rs 30 cr, Tamilisai’s family has nearly Rs 11 cr assets

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Lok Sabha 2019
Kanimozhi and Tamilisai will face off against each other in Thoothukudi constituency in the Lok Sabha Elections.
BJP State President Tamilisai Soundararajan, who is contesting from Thoothukudi, filed her nomination papers on Monday. As per her affidavit, Tamilisai has assets worth Rs 2 crore, while her husband Soundararajan’s total assets amounted to Rs 8.91 crore. A doctor by profession, Tamilisai declared her income for the financial year 2018-19 as Rs 9,33,550. This was a jump of over 256% from 2014-15 when her declared income was Rs 2,62,200. The BJP leader’s moveable assets totaled Rs 1.50 crore with Tamilisai listing 200 sovereigns of jewellery, a diagnostic lab and scan machine that was worth Rs 10 lakh each. She had no car registered under her name, while her husband owned three vehicles including a Toyota Fortuner that cost Rs 25 lakh. Tamilisai declared that she owned a residential building in Manali in Thiruvallur district that was now valued at Rs 50 lakh. She stated that she had liabilities to the tune of Rs 1.87 lakh. Her affidavit stated that she has no criminal cases. As for her educational qualifications, BJP’s Thoothukudi candidate stated that she did her MBBS in Thanjavur Medical College and her DGO from SRMC University.   Meanwhile, Kanimozhi of the DMK who is contesting against the BJP state President has declared assets over Rs 30 crore. Kanimozhi has been a two-time Rajya Sabha MP since 2007 and will be contesting in a Lok Sabha election for the first time.  As per her affidavit, she had movable assets worth Rs 21.16 crore and immovable assets worth Rs 8.92 crore.  Her husband K Arivandan has total assets worth nearly Rs 14 lakh, while their son Adithyan’s moveable assets are pegged at Rs 11.12 lakh In addition to this she owns two four-wheelers which are valued at Rs 8.92 crore. Her liabilities, meanwhile, stand at Rs.8.92 crore Her income, based on the IT returns for the financial year 2017-18, was Rs 1,40,29,910, up from Rs 1,24,11,320 in the financial year 2013-14.  Kanimozhi has declared her profession as public service. As per her affidavit, she had six cases against her, two of which are in connection to the 2G spectrum allocation. She was acquitted in the 2G case by a special court in December 2017. The CBI has, however, challenged the acquittal in the Delhi High Court. The case is now pending before the High Court.     
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Ground report: Sterlite a key issue as Kanimozhi and Tamilisai face off in Thoothukudi

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Lok Sabha 2019
To win the constituency, it is the votes of Nadars, a powerful BC community in Tamil Nadu, that is crucial.
Holding on to rapidly melting ice cream bars, party workers stand under the scorching Thoothukudi sun, taking a bite every now and then to beat the heat. The luckier ones, who came well in advance, have found a spot under the shamiana. The gathering includes cadre from the spectrum of parties that have now grouped themselves under the Madhacharbatra Murpokku Kootani (Secular Progressive Alliance) led by the DMK. They await the arrival of DMK’s Thoothukudi candidate Kanimozhi, whose agenda for the day includes inaugurating the party office in Vilathikulam and addressing cadre. A two-time Rajya Sabha MP and the daughter of late former Chief Minister and former DMK President M Karunanidhi, Kanimozhi is facing her first direct election from Thoothukudi. The constituency in southern Tamil Nadu is nearly 600 kilometres from Chennai, where Kanimozhi has spent most of her life, but the DMK’s women’s wing leader dismisses the idea that she’ll be seen as an outsider to the voters in Thoothukudi. “I have been working in Thoothukudi, the village I adopted in my second term as a Rajya Sabha MP is in Thoothukudi. I have taken up a house. I will be living here. So, I don’t think I will be seen as an outsider here,” Kanimozhi tells TNM. The leader has been grooming the constituency for the past four years, spending a small sum of her MPLAD funds on 14 works in Thoothukudi district. Explaining why she chose the constituency, Kanimozhi says, “It is an area with a lot of potential but unfortunately there have not been enough industries here, a lot of agricultural industries can be brought here which hasn’t been done. The basic infrastructure facilities are there, like the airport can be expanded, the port can be expanded. A lot of employment opportunities are possible in Thoothukudi.” Stealing a march over her rivals, Kanimozhi began her poll campaign days after her candidature was officially announced by the DMK. Significantly, she chose to launch her campaign on March 22 from the temple town of Tiruchendur, an attempt to woo Hindu voters, many whom have traditionally seen the DMK as an ‘atheist’ party. Kanimozhi on the campaign trail (Image courtesy: Twitter/Kanimozhi)   The crucial Nadar vote Thoothukudi Parliamentary constituency was formed after the delimitation exercise in 2009. It comprises six Assembly segments – Thoothukudi, Tiruchendur, Vilathikulam, Kovilpatti, Ottapidaram, and Srivaikuntam. And while the DMK and the AIADMK have won the Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and 2014 respectively, the latter won four out of the six seats in the 2016 Assembly Elections. However, two are now lying vacant with bye-polls to be held to Vilathikulam simultaneously along with the Lok Sabha Elections. To win the constituency, gaining the Christian votes is important, given the community makes up a significant chunk of the population. But it is the votes of Nadars, a powerful BC community in the region, that is crucial. A prosperous community comprising mostly of small traders, the Nadars hold significant influence in Thoothukudi. It is for this reason that political parties have consistently fielded candidates from the Nadar community. The DMK’s decision to field Kanimozhi reflects this trend, given that the leader’s mother belongs to the community. ‘Healthy competition between two women’ Kanimozhi’s rival, the BJP’s Tamilisai Soundararajan, also hails from the Nadar community, and proudly proclaims her roots to Nagercoil in the neighbouring district of Kanyakumari. “I want the southern part of Tamil Nadu to enter into developmental mode,” says the BJP’s state President and Thoothukudi candidate. A doctor by profession, Tamilisai is the daughter of Congress leader Kumari Ananthan. She also happens to be the niece of Congress MLA H Vasanthakumar, who will take on Union Minister and sitting Kanyakumari MP Pon Radhakrishnan of the BJP. And although she has unsuccessfully contested in two Assembly Elections and one Parliamentary Election in the past, Tamilisai is upbeat about her chances against Kanimozhi. Terming the battle between two women “healthy competition”, the BJP chief in Tamil Nadu also notes, “I don’t want any negative politics. But I will say I am a non-corrupt person, there is no case against me. I didn’t get my posting because of dynasty and family politics. I toiled in this party for more than 20 years. And BJP is a party which gives recognition to hard workers. I want to serve the people.” Tamilisai on the way to file her nomination (Image courtesy: Twitter/ Tamilisai Soundararajan)   Besides addressing the drinking water problem in the constituency, Tamilisai promises to bring in more employment opportunities, stating, “Unemployment is more, it is an industrial area. For example, salt-oriented industry – these could be developed much more in a better way, so it could give more opportunities to the youth. There’s a lack of skill development centres also. Education institutions are also less in the district.” Key issues in Thoothukudi Voters on the ground, however, point to a range of issues. “I go and do painting work in villages. The roads to villages are very bad. Whichever party comes to power, they aren’t doing a good job,” says Balamurugan, a painter. Kannan, a voter in Vilathikulam, observes, “Whichever party comes to power, they make promises saying they will help us. But they don’t do anything after.” His sentiment is shared by many others. They demand that parties focus on providing more job opportunities. “There are less jobs here. At one point, there were match stick, cracker industries. This has now become mechanised and because of that there are less jobs now. Farming has also failed,” says Kannan. Vasanthakumar, an autorickshaw driver, says GST has affected daily wage workers like him. “In Tamil Nadu, daily wage workers who are toiling hard, aren’t able to work. I have an auto. You should see the GST bill. Why should I pay GST? I am a labourer,” he says angrily. Anti-Sterlite protests and their aftermath These issues apart, it is the fate of the Sterlite copper plant that is one of the biggest poll issues in 2019. The Lok Sabha Elections come a year after massive protests by residents and activists who accused the copper plant of causing environmental damage and affecting the health of thousands. On the 100th day of protests, 13 demonstrators were shot dead in police firing. While the Tamil Nadu government ordered the plant shut soon after, Vedanta, the parent company of Sterlite, has challenged the closure in court. Pethiah, who drives a load auto and participated in the anti-Sterlite protests last year says people in his village still live in fear. “Police and government officials are threatening us. But because the plant is closed, there is no issue. If people open it once again, people will get ready to protest once again. Because of this, the government is using the police to threaten us,” he alleges. Kingston, a resident in Thoothukudi city, says, “The Sterlite issue is big here. Because of its pollution, people are falling sick and getting diseases. The government hasn’t taken a proper decision. Every party will say we will take a right decision, but no one is doing anything.” His words are echoed by Shanmugasundaram, who says, “They should take out Sterlite. And new companies should come in.” However, opinion is divided on whether the closure of Sterlite has impacted jobs in the town. While Shanmugasundaram says the copper plant being shut down hasn’t resulted in less job opportunities, Manikandan, who runs a taxi service, points out, “The closure of Sterlite has hit us badly. There’s been no movement at the harbour. This issue has been going on since 1995, why did it become so big in 2018?” As far as the political parties go, DMK’s manifesto, which promises to scrap the Chennai-Salem Expressway and the Methane project in the Cauvery delta, makes no specific promise about the Sterlite copper plant. Kanimozhi, however, says, “The DMK manifesto has clearly said that polluting industries will not be allowed to continue.” BJP’s Tamilisai, however, remains ambivalent about the Sterlite issue. “I feel sad for people who were killed in the agitation. It is propagated as if we are the cause for that. Even the fishermen of the area accepted they were motivated to do some agitation. They came out with the truth of that situation. It was unfortunate to lose such lives. But these types of losses should not happen again. Sterlite issue is in court, so let us decide on that,” she says. For now, however, the Sterlite copper plant in Thoothukudi is a virtual fortress, heavily barricaded with police personnel on high alert for the slightest inkling of unrest. Watch:
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How a regional Supreme Court in the south could help make justice more accessible

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While lawyers and activists welcome the AIADMK’s promise of a regional apex court in Chennai, the Supreme Court has rejected the idea a number of times.
PTI
In an ambitious promise last week, the AIADMK vowed in its Lok Sabha manifesto to urge the Indian government to set up a regional branch of the Supreme Court in Chennai for the benefit of 'people of Tamil Nadu and South Indian States.' Although not new, the demand has taken on a new dimension with states increasingly pointing to the ways in which they are inconvenienced by the lack of decentralisation. While lawyers from Tamil Nadu have long argued for a regional branch of the apex court in Chennai, the Law Commission itself had recommended the idea to the Supreme Court in 2009. The next year, the Full Court of the apex court unanimously rejected the suggestion that there be a Constitution bench in Delhi and Cassation courts (final courts of appeal which can reverse decisions of lower courts) in four other regions of the country. The then UPA government, which made the recommendations, was told that splitting up the Supreme Court would 'affect the country's unitary character.' Justice for all TNM spoke to a few lawyers who reiterated the need for justice to be accessible – and that the regional Supreme Court could be a step in that direction. One of them, senior lawyer Sudha Ramalingam, argued that for justice to be served to all, courts must be accessible to all. Referring to the High Court set up in India, she says, “Just like we have a bench of the Madras High Court in Madurai, there should be a regional Supreme Court in the south. In Maharashtra, there are two regional branches of the Bombay High Court in Aurangabad and Nagpur. Unity is not affected by this.” “There are a number of barriers to those seeking justice: it is inaccessible, expensive, time-consuming, the language is different, etc.,” Sudha points out. “Many states have been asking for this; it has been a long-standing demand. It is high time that we have a regional Supreme Court.” The lawyer also says that unlike in the United States, where the Supreme Court is a constitutional court, the Indian Supreme Court is also a court of appeal. That makes its accessibility all the more important. Affordability Another argument for a regional Supreme Court, especially for those in south India, is affordability. Antony Rubin, a Chennai-based animal rights activist who frequents the courts says that a regional apex court could be a major money-saver. “Travelling to Delhi and back is quite expensive. That is also a reason why so many cases don’t go to the Supreme Court.” Antony gives the example of aspersions cast on S Anitha, the medical aspirant whose suicide over National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) shook Tamil Nadu in 2017. She had approached the Supreme Court stating that the NEET exam for medical admissions particularly disadvantaged rural students, especially those from Tamil Nadu. Many who were in favour of the central government admission test had accused Anitha of ulterior motives, questioning how she had the resources to approach the court.   “If not in Chennai, the court could be somewhere in the south. The courts have equal and sometimes even more power than the government, so they should be accessible to the common citizens,” Antony asserts. However, a regional apex court will be of little use if it is unable to fill vacancies as is the case with the judiciary in many places. Antony points out that even tribunals and benches that sit out of the different regions in the country have only few judges to process the thousands of pending cases. “For example, we have the National Green Tribunal in all four corners of the country but there are no judges. So, what is the point of having a court? Having a Supreme Court in the south is cool but will they have judges? There is a shortage, even in the Madras High Court.” 
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Six killed in blast at firecracker unit in TN’s Tiruvarur

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Two other workers identified as Shaik Abdullah and Settu, were injured and admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Tiruvarur.
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An explosion in a firecracker unit in Tiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu killed six workers on Wednesday. The explosion occurred at a firecracker manufacturing unit located in Mannargudi at around 7am in which two persons were also injured.  The blast had such an impact that the entire building was razed to the ground. "While four of them were flung outside under the impact of the explosion, two got trapped under the rubble and all of them died," a rescue official told PTI. The deceased were identified as Suresh, Arivu, Veeraiyan, Babu, Narayanan and Singaravelu. Singaravelu was an AIADMK functionary and owner of the building.  Sources told The Hindu that the workers were trapped in the concrete enclosure where the fireworks were kept.  Two other workers identified as Shaik Abdullah and Settu, were injured and admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Tiruvarur.  The unit was involved in manufacturing fancy fireworks for temple festivals and other functions. On receiving information about the explosion, fire tenders rushed to the spot to douse the fire and carry out rescue operations, which lasted for over an hour.  A car belonging to Singaravelu and a few other vehicles were also damaged in the explosion, according to sources. Locals in the area who rushed to the spot after hearing a loud noise said that they found flames coming from the debris. Somasundaram, Muthu and Abbas, who escaped unhurt, narrated the sequence of events to the police. According to Somasundaram, the blast occurred just minutes after he had got out of the building.  The cause of the blast is yet to be determined.  Senior police and revenue officials conducted preliminary inquiries and a case has been registered by the Mannargudi police. Chief Minister K. Palaniswami condoled the death of the six persons. With IANS inputs
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