Six more MPs join OPS, Sasikala tries to keep flock intact

February 13, 2017

Chennai, Feb 13: Support grew for Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, locked in a bruising feud with AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala, with six more MPs crossing over to his camp on Sunday.

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However, all eyes will be on the Tamil Nadu Police, which is expected to submit an affidavit to the Madras High Court on Monday with regard to the AIADMK MLAs who were lodged in a resort.

Following habeas corpus petitions charging that the MLAs were detained forcibly, the cases pertaining to the legislators’ condition will come up for hearing on Monday.

A police team went to the resort on Saturday to find out whether the MLAs were being held captive, police sources said.

Though there was no official communication from the police, sources said the authorities met all the MLAs and inquired about their status since the petitions charged that the legislators were not only detained forcibly, but also restrained from using phones to contact their families.

With no information from the Raj Bhavan about its decision on the fate of the ruling party, Sasikala, who visited the resort for the second consecutive day, said her party MLAs will extend support any time.

On the purported delay by Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao in inviting her to form the government and the MPs crossing over to the Panneerselvam camp, she said, “You very well know the reason.”

“They (MLAs) were also aware that some people were trying to divide the party,” she added. An emotional Sasikala, who extended greetings to the governor on his 75th birthday, claimed she is ready to sacrifice her life to save AIADMK.

Meanwhile, five more AIADMK Lok Sabha MPs from Tuticorin, Perambalur, Vellore, Villupuram and Theni switched their allegiance to the Panneerselvam camp, taking the number to 11. Rajya Sabha MP R Lakshmanan also extended support.

The chief minister is confident he will have the support of more MLAs very soon. “We will prove our strength in the Assembly,” he said.

Sasikala displayed a copy of a fake letter reportedly sent by her to the governor, threatening to commit suicide if she was not allowed to form the government.

“A fake letter in my name is doing the rounds in social media, and a friend brought it to my notice. You (media) should also see it. It is very difficult for a woman to be in politics. Have seen that during Purathchi Thalaivi’s (revolutionary leader, a term fondly used by Jayalalithaa’s supporters to address her) times also, but she overcame it,” Sasikala said.

Tension prevailed for several hours when journalists who went to cover the events at the resort were attacked.

They staged a protest, demanding action against the attackers.

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News Network
March 14,2024

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The high-level committee on simultaneous elections, chaired by Ram Nath Kovind, on Thursday met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan and submitted its report on 'One Nation, One Election'. The report comprises 18,626 pages.

Home Minister Amit Shah was also present at Rashtrapati Bhawan when Kovind led panel submitted the report.

"Simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and state assemblies can be held in first step, followed by local body polls within 100 days in second step," reported PTI quoting the panel.

"Synchronised polls for all three tiers of government to improve governance architecture, in line with quest of aspirational India," it added.

The report has been submitted 191 days after the constitution of the panel on September 2, 2023.

It's further reported that the proposal also puts focus on having a singular electoral roll for holding Lok Sabha, state assembly and local body polls.

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News Network
March 21,2024

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New Delhi, Mar 21: Election Commission (EC) on Thursday directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of Narendra Modi-led government to put an end to bulk WhatsApp messages labelled 'Viksit Bharat Sampark.' It has also sought a compliance report immediately from the ministry.

EC had received several complaints that such messages are still being delivered on citizens’ phones despite the announcement of Lok Sabha elections and the model code of conduct (MCC) entering into force.

In response, the govt informed the commission that although the letters were sent out before MCC came into force, some of them could have possibly been delivered to recipients with a delay because of systemic and network limitations.

In the past few days, several WhatsApp users have received messages from 'Viksit Bharat Sampark' seeking feedback and suggestions from the public. 

The message comes with a PDF that has a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioning government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, Matru Vandana Yojana, etc, and seeking suggestions from the citizens over government initiatives and schemes.

The letter which addresses users as 'my dear family members' had sparked political controversy. Congress has called the PDF file attached with the message a ‘political propaganda’.

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News Network
March 18,2024

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New Delhi, Mar 18: The Election Commission on Monday afternoon issued orders for the removal of six Home Secretaries - including the top bureaucrats from Gujarat, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.

The poll panel also directed the transfer of West Bengal's Director-General of Police, the top cop of a state that has seen several instances of poll-related violence in recent years. The poll panel further said a shortlist of three potential replacements had to be prepared and submitted by 5 pm.

The re-shuffle, not an uncommon move by the Election Commission before major polls, also includes the transfer of the Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand Home Secretaries, as well as senior officials attached to the offices of the Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh Chief Ministers.

In addition, Iqbal Singh Chahal, who is Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and other officials in municipalities across Maharashtra, have been removed too.

All of this comes less than a month before the 2024 Lok Sabha poll; the ECI on Saturday said voting will begin on April 19 and run over seven phases till June 1.

This is, in fact, the first bureaucratic re-jig by the ECI since it announced polling dates.

The ECI's move comes after a meeting of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and his two associates, the newly-appointed Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. This step comes as part of the poll panel's commitment to ensure a level playing field for all political parties in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, as well as by-polls for 26 seats in 13 states.

Sources said the personnel removed were found to be holding dual charge in the offices of the respective chief ministers of each state, and this could compromise, or be seen to be compromising, required neutrality, particularly in relation to law-and-order before, during and after polling.

Bengal's ruling Trinamool has not yet reacted to the removal of DGP Rajiv Malik, who is seen by some to be close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party. In the past, the state government has questioned the last-minute re-shuffle of senior civil service and police officials so close to an election, arguing it actually hampers prep work since the new faces need time to adjust to the post.

Bengal has frequently witnessed violence during polling season; in June last year over a dozen people were killed across the state as voting for a panchayat election was underway.

The Trinamool accused the opposition of instigating violence and criticised central forces for their failure to protect voters, while the Congress claimed the state had let thugs loose on the people.

While announcing the dates on Saturday, the Chief Election Commissioner said the poll panel would take a very dim view of any violence during the election. Mr Kumar said the ECI is prepared to come down hard on any such incident. "We're putting political parties on notice," he declared.

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