The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu has won the Erode East bypoll with a massive margin, defeating actor-politician Seeman's NTK. The victory is seen as a boost for the DMK ahead of next year's Assembly elections. DMK candidate V C Chandhirakumar trounced Naam Tamilar Katchi's (NTK) M K Seethalakshmi by a margin of 91,558 votes, leading to the NTK forfeiting its deposit. Chief Minister and DMK president Stalin attributed the win to the DMK government's good governance, while AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami termed it a "fake" victory. The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Congress MLA EVKS Elangovan last year.
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A statue of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MG Ramachandran was on Tuesday found damaged in Thanjavur, with the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagam strongly condemning the incident and calling for action against the "anti-social elements" behind the vandalism.
The bickering between allies All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu over late Dravidian stalwart C N Annadurai peaked on Monday with the regional party snapping ties with the saffron organisation, saying it cannot tolerate any affront to the late chief minister and its other leaders.
The statue at Telephone Maidan at Katwa town in East Burdwan district with its face blackened was found.
In his plea, Umapathy, secretary of Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, alleged that Rajinikanth had made false and fraudulent statements insulting the Dravidian stalwart and followers of Periyar while speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of Tamil magazine 'Thuglak' here recently. He contended that "Rajinikanth made false and fraudulent statements insulting Dravidian ideologists and the followers of Thanthai Periyar with an intention to provoke breach of public peace by promoting enmity and hatred among the people of Tamil Nadu in the name of religion."
The workers, who cleaned the statue, demanded the arrest of the culprits and warned that they would intensify their agitation if such incidents recurred, police said.
Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Thursday staged an unprecedented walkout from the state assembly following a face-off with Chief Minister M K Stalin over the former's customary address to members of the house in its first session of the year.
A Dravidian outfit has alleged that Rajinikanth uttered a 'blatant lie' that the images of Lord Ram and Sita were taken nude in a rally held by Periyar as part of superstition eradication conference in 1971 at Salem.
Distribution of sweets, welfare assistance and blood donation by party workers were among the highlights of celebrations of the 93rd birthday of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam patriarch M Karunanidhi on Friday.
The spectacles on the Gandhi bust in Kannur were broken while the Ambedkar bust had red paint splashed across it.
The actor, who plays the role of Kattappa in the movie, clarified that he was not against Kannada people.
Rajinikanth said he stood by his comments made on Periyar, maintaining that they were factual and refused to apologise as demanded by fringe Dravidian outfits. DMK chief advised him to exercise caution while expressing views on Periyar.
The 65-year-old leader's ascent as the DMK chief heralds a new era in the Dravidian party, making him only the second man after his father to be elected as party president.
While Muthuraman is suspected to be a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, Francis is believed to be a Communist Party of India activist, police said.
Mayawati has accused 'Ravan' of being a BJP agent who is dividing the scheduled castes.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday "strongly disapproved" incidents of vandalism of statues in certain parts of the country and spoke to Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the matter.
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