TN This Week: BJP’s Annamalai Says Would Rather Resign Than Continue Alliance with AIADMK

A group of non-Dalit residents from villages in and around Vengaivayal attempted to besiege the Pudukkottai collectorate demanding action against four Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) members who tried to demolish a controversial water tank, where human faeces were found some weeks ago.

Two persons were killed and one injured in a blast at a firecracker unit in Pennagram in Tamil Nadu's Dharmapuri district on Thursday.

The first COVID-19 death since November 2022 was recorded in Tamil Nadu this week. A 27-year-old man from Trichy, who was admitted to a private hospital, passed away on Friday.

Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) leader Seeman faces charges for speaking against migrant workers. He said, “I do not know how many people I am going to beat up. They themselves would run away. Within one week they would pack their luggage.”

Tamil writer Perumal Murugan's novel Pookkuzhi, translated as 'Pyre' in English by Anirudh Vasudevan, made it to the International Booker Prize 2023 longlist. It is the first Tamil novel to be nominated for the prize.

Tamil Nadu climbed to the third position, from fourteenth, in ease of doing business, said Mano Thangaraj, minister for IT and digital services.

Of the 1,543 government schools in Tamil Nadu where the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme is implemented, 1,319 schools showed an increase in attendance of students of Classes I-V, according to a State Planning Commission study.

The state tourism department ordered a ban on the Kuravan-Kurathi Attam, a dance form portraying the people of the denotified Kuravan tribe in a derogatory manner. The Tamil Nadu Tribal Association (TNTA) welcomed the move. Read more

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

RIGHT WING IN TROUBLE

Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai, on Friday, said that he would offer to resign from the post if the BJP was to continue its alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) for the 2024 Parliamentary elections. Recently, 13 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders defected to the AIADMK.

Meanwhile, a popular content creator Madan Ravichandran released a series of “sting” videos supposedly exposing right-wing Tamil YouTube personalities and political operatives, alleging that they take money to defame people and influence elections.

Tamil Nadu BJP’s Amar Prasad Reddy is allegedly heard talking about targeting party colleagues to rise above them. Ravindran Duraiswamy, a pro-Hindutva political analyst, is seen accepting a gold ring and cash to work on political campaigns. Kishore K Swamy, a BJP-favouring content creator, also appeared in the videos.

Moreover, the state police arrested the district secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad for allegedly demanding Rs 25 lakh from the Catholic priest Dominic Savio from Ariyalur and threatening him of tarnishing his image. A Hindu Munnani member and three others were arrested for allegedly attacking migrant workers near the Town Hall area in Coimbatore. 

INFIGHTING IN DMK

On Wednesday, supporters of MP Tiruchi N Siva waved black flags as the convoy of the Minister for Municipal Administration K N Nehru crossed the MP’s residence, because the MP was not invited to a government function. Minutes after the function, in retaliation, the supporters of Nehru reportedly hurled stones and vandalised a car belonging to Siva.

Men from both factions were booked by the police.

The DMK general secretary Durai Murugan announced temporary suspension of four functionaries from the party’s primary membership as disciplinary action. 

SECOND IIT-M STUDENT'S SUICIDE IN A MONTH

A third-year B Tech student of IIT-Madras died by suicide on Tuesday. The 20-year-old student of electrical engineering department, a resident of Andhra Pradesh, was found hanging in his hostel room by his roommates.

Exactly a month ago, a research scholar from Maharashtra, Stephen Sunny, purportedly killed himself in his hostel room on February 14.

PROTESTS AND MOVEMENTS

DAIRY FARMERS

A section of dairy farmers in Erode emptied containers of milk and held an agitation for a better procurement price on Friday.

The Tamil Nadu government denied that the protests had caused a shortage of milk anywhere in the state.

AGAINST VIOlENCE IN TRIPURA

Over the course of the week, left parties held protest demonstrations in several districts to condemn violence instigated by the BJP and RSS on Communists and Congress workers in Tripura.

SANITATION STAFF

Nearly 300 sanitation workers hired on a contract basis at Primary Health Centers (PHC) in Tamil Nadu under the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) scheme staged a protest on Friday over demands to improve their working conditions.

Alleging that frequent change in the contractors is affecting the daily schedule of cleaning works, a group of sanitary staff approached the Collector on Monday seeking his intervention.

AGAINST PARANDUR AIPORT

A protest demonstration was held on behalf of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) in front of the Kancheepuram district collectorate condemning the government’s silence on the Parandur airport. The police, revenue department, and ruling party officials have “besieged” the 13 villages, leaving the farmers and the public nervous about their futures.

Around 500 people participated in the AIKS protest. Image credit: P Shanmugam

 

AGAINST LETHARGY OF REVENUE DEPT

A group of farmers in Ranipet district threatened a protest on Friday because the revenue department has delayed reclassification of wrongly labelled land belonging to the primary agricultural cooperative credit society at Siruvalayam village in Nemili taluk. It is standing in the way of handing over the land for building a godown funded by NABARD.

AGRICULTURE WORKERS

The All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) held protest demonstrations in front of district collectorate offices across Tamil Nadu on Thursday. They demanded a separate department to be set up for agricultural workers in the state.