TN This Week: EPS Appeals Against HC Order, Rejects OPS Plea for Unity

Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) filed an appeal before the Madras High Court (HC) on August 18 challenging Justice G Jayachandran’s order that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) should maintain status quo as on June 23. The ruling on a suit filed by former chief minister (CM) O Panneerselvam (OPS) had scrapped post of interim general secretary post, held by EPS. At the party’s general council meet on July 11, his rival OPS was removed from all posts.

Industrial body representatives vehemently opposed Tamil Nadu’s proposed increase in power tariff at the first-ever public hearing in Coimbatore on August 16. They said that the 25% hike in peak hour electricity charges, to be levied from 6.30 am to 10.30 am and 6 pm to 9 pm, will completely ruin the industrial sector.

Following a sit-in protest by the conservancy staff in Vellore, district mayor Sujatha Anandakumar announced a wage increase on August 17. This would benefit 977 contractual workers.

Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam members across many districts have decided to boycott all elections—local body, Assembly and Parliament—till forest department officials put an end to the animal and bird menace affecting their crops.

The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) inquiry against state fisheries minister Anitha R Radhakrishnan in the alleged money laundering case resumed after the HC modified an interim order passed in his favour on June 29.

CM MK Stalin called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on August 17 to discuss state-specific development issues. The CM also paid courtesy visits to President Droupadi Murmu and vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Newsclick brings you a round-up of the happenings in Tamil Nadu this week.

EPS FILES APPEAL

EPS moved the HC on August 18 challenging Justice Jayachandran’s order that All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) should maintain status quo as on June 23. The ruling on a suit filed by OPS had scrapped the post of interim general secretary.

According to EPS, the order of the single-Judge Bench directly interferes with the affairs of the party and curtails its democratic functioning by ignoring the wishes of the majority of the members. Read more

VETERAN COMMUNIST GETS EMINENT TAMIL AWARD

After unfurling the national flag at Fort St George in Chennai on the 76th Independence Day, Stalin gave a speech highlighting the “achievements” of his 15-month-old government.

At the event, veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) leader R Nallakannu received the Thagaisal Thamizhar Award from the CM. Nallakannu donated the award’s cash component of Rs 10 lakh to the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund along with an additional contribution of Rs 5,000.

Upon Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front’s (TNUEF) alarm call, many Scheduled Caste (SC) local body chiefs hoisted the national flag with the state’s support. Read more

BJP CADRE ARRESTED FOR VIOLENCE

The Dharmapuri Police arrested BJP state vice-president KP Ramalingam on August 14 for breaking open the lock of Bharat Mata memorial and entering forcibly along with his partymen.

The Chennai Police’s cybercrime wing arrested Tamil Nadu president of Hindu Munnani’s art and culture wing Kanal Kannan, who was hiding in Puducherry, on August 14. The police booked him for his provocative speech at a gathering in the city where he called for vandalising the Periyar statue outside Srirangam Temple.

Meanwhile, a BJP member hurled a slipper at state finance minister Palanivel Thiagarajan in Madurai while he was returning after paying tributes to the mortal remains of Lakshmanan, an Army Rifleman. Three women were arrested in connection with the incident.

LOCALS OPPOSE NEW AIRPORT

After a two-hour wait for ministers to arrive at the public hearing over the proposed greenfield airport in Parandur, villagers who gathered at Kanchipuram Collectorate staged a walkout on August 16.

Ministers EV Velu, Thangam Thennarasu and TM Anbarasan were supposed to hear out the concerns of representatives from 12 villages.

Worried that they would lose their farmland and water bodies, people from Parandur and surrounding areas protested and demanded the shifting of the airport at their recent gram sabha meeting.

SAND LORRY OPERATORS STRIKE

All M-sand and River Sand Lorry Owners’ Federation began an indefinite strike in Chennai and neighbouring districts from August 18.

About 20,000 sand lorries stayed off the road in eight districts as part of the protest, seeking action against overloading of vehicles and alleged corruption in the sector.

PLANTATION WORKERS PROTEST

Salem District Plantation Workers’ Union, affiliated to the CITU, protested before the district collector’s office seeking roads and other basic infrastructure for Yercaud hill station villages.

Yercaud plantation workers demand construction of roads. Image courtesy: CITU, Tamil Nadu.

The protest was called off after the district collector promised to solve the problems within a month.

DALIT ACTIVIST THREATENED BY ‘RIGHT-WING’ ELEMENTS

A Dalit activist and writer named Shalin Maria Lawrence alleged that she has been receiving threats from right-wing groups due to her work since 2018. She was recently sent a communally provocative poster showing her picture with a Muslim friend and the contact details of her husband. Maria took to Twitter to share her ordeal and said that she had approached the police.