OPS. Criticising Stalin’s government for not even filling 10,000 vacant posts since he assumed office, the former CM said the government should fill 15,000 vacant posts based on the results of TNPSC group-IV examination for the year 2022. He
demanded the government to hold a similar examination for 2023 to fill 50,000 vacant posts by the end of this year. It should also hold examinations through TNPSC periodically to fill all the vacant posts in the government for efficient governance.
Ousted AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam on Wednesday criticised the DMK government for not honouring its poll promise to fill the 3.5 lakh vacancies in government departments and demanded the government to conduct periodical examinations through the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission to fill the vacant posts. After a long delay, the government had published the results for the Group - IV examinations that were held on July 24 last year for the vacant posts of 10,117. The result was out on March 24 this year, said OPS in a statement. The DMK, in 2021, pointed out that 3.5 lakh postings remained vacant in government departments. In the last one year, around one lakh government employees have retired. It took the total vacancies to 4.5 lakh, accounting for 60% of the posts in the government sectors. However, the DMK government failed to honour its poll promise to fill the vacant posts and it did not even fill 10,000 vacant posts till date, said
The Union Home Minister is scheduled to meet party’s functionaries in South Chennai to hold sessions on strengthening booth committees ahead of the polls
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who reached Chennai on Saturday (June 10) evening is slated to participate in the BJP’s ‘Maha Jan Sampark’ programme that aims to touch base with voters and tell them the initiatives taken by the Narendra Modi government over the past nine years, ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections next year.
With the BJP with the support of the AIADMK eyeing 10 Lok Sabha seats from Vellore and South Chennai, Shah is scheduled to hold discussions with the party’s South Chennai functionaries about the pace of the campaign for the polls.
Shah is also expected to hold briefing sessions with cadres on strengthening booth committees in the run up to the polls. Reports said, the Home Minister will also meet industrialists. While
former chief minister and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami is expected to meet Shah, his bete noire and expelled leader Pannerselvam is also said to have taken an appointment to meet the BJP leader.
Later in the day, Shah will address a public meeting in Pallikonda in Vellore before leaving for Andhra Pradesh.
On Saturday, Shah was received at the airport by BJP leaders including Union Minister L Murugan while Home Secretary P Amutha was present from the behalf of the state government. He was later welcomed at the hotel by state BJP leader Annamalai and senior party functionaries. He met 24 apolitical personalities following which he had a discussion with senior party leaders about the elections.
Even as the state BJP unit organised a grand welcome for Shah at the airport, his entry was marred by a power cut, which the party alleged was a “security lapse.” The street lights weren’t working when Home Minister stepped out of
the airport to leave for his hotel in Guindy.
Protesting against the same, a group of BJP cadres also staged a protest at the airport, demanding a probe into the matter.
“This has to be investigated. How can there be a sudden power failure when our leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached Chennai airport? This is a security lapse. This should be seriously investigated,” BJP’s state vice president Karu Nagarajan told reporters.
“Union Home Minister Amit Shah has come to Tamil Nadu today. He met very important people from Chennai who have made Tamil Nadu proud. They are non-political people. They gave feedback about our government… It is a very unfortunate incident that
when the Home Minister came there was a power failure. Untimely power cuts are happening after the DMK govt came to power.
I hope the state government will take it seriously and ensure that such incidents do not happen again,” state BJP president K Annamalai. DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in a recent swipe at the BJP had said that the party’s hold is reducing across the country while asking Shah to release a list of initiatives that the Centre has taken for Tamil Nadu in the past nine years.
Responding to the criticism, Annamalai said the BJP will answer his questions as well as ask him what the DMK government has done for the
people in the two years of its regime.
“I see a lot of fear on the chief minister’s face. Tomorrow we will answer all the questions of the chief minister and ask him what he has done for Tamil Nadu in the last two years.
I hope he will answer our questions as well. The people of Tamil Nadu do not want DMK party to be in power and want Assembly elections to be preponed by three years so that Lok Sabha and Assembly elections can be held in 2024,” Annamalai said. Shah is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to dessimante the achievements of the BJP government in the past nine years.
The June 2 horrific train crash in Odisha’s Balasore that left over 280 dead and 1,175 injured exposes a manufactured disaster caused by utter negligence, serious system lapses and inefficiency. Despite several warnings, there appears to be criminal neglect of the signalling system.
Interlocking alteration has again been suspected as the probable reason behind the Balasore mishap. The crash involved the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express (both of them together carrying around 2,000 passengers) and a goods train. It occurred around 7 pm near Balasore’s Bahanaga Bazar station — about 170 km north of Bhubaneswar (Odisha) and 250 km south of Kolkata (West Bengal).
Citing a preliminary investigation report by the State Emergency Operation Centre and Special Relief Commissioner, which is in possession of NewsClick, the Railway Board on June 4 said there was some issue with the signalling.
“According to the preliminary findings, there has been some issue with the signalling. We are still waiting for the detailed report from the Commissioner of Railway Safety,” Jaya Varma Sinha, member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board, told reporters while explaining the sequence of events that led to one of the deadliest train accidents in the Indian Railways’ history.
Read Alao: Balasore Train Tragedy Exposes Ignored Warnings and Lakhs of Vacant Positions in Indian Railways
Instead of moving ahead on the main track, the Coromandel Express (12841) — reveals the report — entered a loop line after a green signal given to it to enter the mainline was taken off. As a result, it collided with a stationary goods train parked there.
In the meantime, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express (train number 12864) — it says — passed through the down main line, and two coaches derailed and capsised. While Coromandel Express was at a speed of 128 mph, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express was running at 116 mph.
The loop lines accommodate more trains to ease operations. It is generally 750 metres in length to accommodate full-length goods train with multiple engines.
“All the stations have two lines and two loop lines. We operate on a point determining whether the train will go straight or on a loop. Signals are interlocked in a manner that it helps in knowing whether the line is occupied. The signal is green when the point is not occupied. The interlocking is done in a manner that helps to know if the movement is clear.
The interlocking was electronic in this station. More can be known if there is electronic interlocking. Some stations are still using levers,” Sandeep Mathur, Railway Board’s principal executive director (signal modernisation), told the media.
Meanwhile, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has claimed that the “root cause” of the tragedy has been identified and will be revealed soon. He said the deadly accident occurred due to a “change in the electronic interlocking”.
As per the extant rules and procedures, the electrical signal maintainer (ESM) shall serve a disconnection memo to the station master — who acknowledges it and then give permission to attend to any failures.
How can anyone meddle with the interlocking gears without opening the Relay Room when there are clear guidelines from the Railway Board for opening it to attend failures? How come an ESM get access to alter the interlocking without opening the Relay Rooms?
On February 9, the Principal Chief Operating Manager of South Western Railway raised concern over the signal failure of Sampark Kranti Express (Train No. 12649) on February 8 at Hosadurga Road — a double line station between Shivani and Ramagiri in BirurChikkajajur section of Mysore Division.
The train was headed toward a head-on collision with a goods train, approaching the Hosadurga station in a downward direction; however, this was averted because of the loco pilot’s alertness, who stopped it before entering the wrong line (down the line).
“The incident indicates that there are serious flaws in the system, where the route of dispatch gets altered after a train starts on signals with correct appearances of the route in the SMs (station masters) panel. This contravenes the essence and basic principles of inter-locking,” he said in his detailed report addressed to the Operating Department of the Hubballi-based Headquarters’ Office.
The signalling cables at many stations across the country, the report says, are first brought to a junction box in the yard and then to the Relay Rooms. “It makes it vulnerable for meddling and interfering with interlocking,” the report notes, cautioning to take the February 8 incident “very seriously”.
“Immediate corrective actions are required to be taken to rectify the system faults,” says the report, adding, “It is high time that some serious work is done on this front to ensure that precious lives and safety of people are not put at risk.”
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, in its 323rd report, had criticised the Railway Board for the “disregard” towards the recommendations of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS).
It is to direct, advise and caution the Railway Board through its supervisory, investigative and advisory functions and thereby assist in ensuring that all prescribed measures are taken, and standards are adhered to and have been implemented concerning the strength of the rail, construction and safety in train operations. The CRS is under the administrative control of the Ministry of
Civil Aviation. The Committee had recommended that the Commission be made an independent, autonomous body just like many other regulatory institutions of the country to improve efficiency and freedom of action.
Pointing out the Railway Board’s “gross disregard” for the CRS, the Committee report states that “only 8-10% of accidents are investigated by the CRS, while the rest are probed by the Railways, and the reports in such cases are not even referred to CRS for comments”.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), India’s top auditing body, in a 2022 report on “Derailments in Indian Railways”, held Indian Railways’ engineering department responsible for most derailments.
From April 2017 to March 2021, the report attributed 422 derailments to the department.
The report pointed towards poor track maintenance, overspeeding and mechanical failure as significant reasons for derailments.
It had also flagged inadequate staffing in safety operations, the declining trend in funding track renewal, not utilising a dedicated railway fund on priority, failure to submit or accept inquiry reports after accidents and severe shortfalls in inspections as serious concerns.
“There were shortfalls ranging from 30-100% in inspections by Track Recording Cars required to assess geometrical and structural conditions of railway tracks,” said the report, which is with NewsClick.
It also referred to failures in the Track Management System (TMS), widely discussed after the Odisha train crash.
“The TMS is a web-based application for online monitoring of track maintenance activities. The inbuilt monitoring mechanism of the TMS portal was, however, not found to be operational,” it pointed out.
The idling of track machines, said the report, was noticed on account of no scope of work (3%), non-availability of staff (5%), operational problems (19%), blocks not planned by divisions (30%), and blocks not given by the operating department (32%).
Analysing 1,129 ‘Inquiry Reports’ of derailment accidents in 16 Zonal Railways, the audit found “23 factors responsible for derailments in selected 1,129 cases/ accidents that occurred in 16 zonal railways”.
Out of 23 reasons, the major factor responsible for derailments was “maintenance of track” (171 cases), followed by “deviation of track parameters beyond permissible limits” (156 cases) and “bad driving/ overspeeding” (154 cases).
Long working hours of loco pilots due to an acute shortage of workforce was suspected to be the main reason for the increasing number of accidents, especially signal danger passing (SPAD) cases, the report found.
The number of derailments attributable to the ‘mechanical department’ was 182. Defects in “wheel diameter variation and defects in coaches/wagons” were the major contributor (37%) to the factors responsible for derailments.
The number of accidents attributable to the “operating department” was 275. “Incorrect setting of points and other mistakes in shunting operations” accounted for 84%.
In 63% of cases, the CAG pointed out, the “inquiry reports” were not submitted to the accepting authority within the prescribed schedule. In 49% of cases, there was a delay in accepting the reports by accepting authorities.
The report further said fire extinguishers were not provided in 27,763 coaches (62%), violating extant norms.
The report also stated that the total allocation of funds for track renovation was dwindling, and even the allocated funds were not fully utilised. This is worrying as the report also states that 26% of the total derailments during 2017-21 were caused because of poor maintenance of tracks.
The audit report also pointed out that the allocation of funds for track maintenance and upgradation works decreased from Rs 9,607.65 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 7,417 crore in 2019-20. “The funds allocated to track maintenance were also not fully utilised,” it said.
As against 35 accidents reported last year (2021-22), said the report, 48 cases of “consequential rail accidents” (mishaps with serious consequences in terms of loss of life, property etc.) were reported in 2022-23. There were 165 “non-consequential train accidents” as well, including 35 cases of SPAD, it said. The accidents reported damage/loss of assets worth Rs 32.96 crore. The Rashtriya Rail Suraksha Kosh (RRSK) was created in 2017-18 with an annual outlay of
Rs 20,000 crore to ensure complete safety. Its corpus had to grow to Rs 1 lakh crore over five years. But “low deployment of funds from internal resources by the Railways” (Rs 15,775 crore) defeated the primary objective of its creation, the report found.
The report also revealed zero testing of rails and welds in East Coast Railway in 2017-21.
Various departments of the Indian Railways have lakhs of vacant seats, reveals a reply furnished under the Right to Information (RTI). Of 14,75,623 Group C posts, over 3.11 lakh are vacant. Of 18,881 sanctioned gazetted cadre posts, 3,018 are lying vacant, it said.
Most of the 39 railway zones and production units, it said, lack the required human resources. The RTI response said appointments of top railway officials, whose seats have been lying vacant for months, have been delayed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet Secretariat. The Railway Board, the reply said, has recently taken up the issue of loco pilots who are forced to work beyond their prescribed working hours — resulting in a threat to the safety of train operations.
According to the rules, their duty hours cannot exceed 12 hours under any circumstances. But due to a workforce shortage, many zonal railways asked loco pilots to stay on duty beyond the prescribed duty hours. For example, in South East Central Railway, the duty hours of loco pilots on duty for more than 12 hours in the first half of March, April and May this year were 35.99%, 34.53% and 33.26%, respectively, revealed the RTI response.
The Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) developed by the Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO) in 2011-12 was named ‘Kavach’. Demonstrating TCAS, the railway minister, in March 2022, explained in detail its functioning. But contrary to the claims that all trains will be equipped with anti-derailment and anticollision devices to ensure the safety of railway passengers, none of the trains that crashed in Odisha neither had ‘Kavach’ nor was it covered by the National Automatic Train Protection System or armour.
was organised hours before the tragic incident on June 2. If the officials who attended the event are to be believed, presentations from various sectors on railway safety were sidelined.
“While discussions were largely held on Vande Bharat trains and raising revenue, only one zone was allowed to make a presentation on security,” media reports have quoted several officials.
“In recent months, there have been alarming incidents of derailments of goods trains where loco pilots were killed, and wagons were completely destroyed. But no discussion was held to prevent such accidents,” said a railway official who was part of the session.
But the allegation was outrightly rejected by the Railway Board member, Jaya Varma Sinha, who termed it “baseless”.
Amid chanting of Vedic hymns followed by a multi&faith prayer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the new Parliament building even as 20 opposition parties stayed away from the historic event. The prime minister described the ceremony as an “”immortalised’’ moment marking the dawn of a self&reliant and developed India that will inspire the progress of other countries.
The ruling BJP at the Centre held onto its resolve of moving ahead with the grand ceremony, which culminated in Prime Minister Modi prostrating before “Sengol’, the ceremonial sceptre that traces its tradition back to the Chola dynasty in the third century BCE. High priests of 21 adheenams from Tamil Nadu consecrated the “Sengol’ and handed it over to the PM, who carried it in a ceremonial procession to the new building and installed it on the right side of the Lok Sabha Speaker’s chair, amid claps and chants of “Modi, Modi’.
While medal&winning wrestlers protested against sexual harassment outside and were detained by police, Prime Minister Modi said the new Parliament reflected the aspirations and resolve of India, the “”mother of democracy’’.
A ‘Chintan Shivir’ or brainstorming session chaired by the railway minister“”Every decision taken here will lay the foundation of India’s glorious future… the way to empower the poor, Dalits, backwards, tribals, divyangs and other marginalised sections goes through here,’’ he said, adding “”each brick and wall of this Parliament building should be dedicated to the welfare of the poor.’’
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the “”self&serving’’ nature of the inauguration, saying the PM had treated the event as if it was his “”coronation’’.
Despite the boycott by opposition parties over President Droupadi Murmu being sidelined, however, close to 25 political parties attended the event amid tight security arrangements. In her speech later, Murmu expressed deep satisfaction at the inauguration by PM Modi who, she said, symbolised Parliament’s trust.
Modi, flanked by peacock motifs in the Lok Sabha during his first address, spoke of shedding “”slave mentality’’ that had crept into the country after hundreds of years of bondage. He equated the 25&year period — from now till the centenary of India’s independence in 2047 — to the similar time gap between Mahatma Gandhi’s non&cooperation movement that had ended in 1922 and the country’s freedom.
“”The new Parliament is a reflection of aspirations and dreams of 140 crore Indians. This is a temple of our democracy that gives a message of India’s resolve to the world. There are a few moments in every nation’s history that are immortalised.
Some dates become the indelible signature on the face of time. May 28, 2023, is one such day,’’ he said. Here’s all you need to know about the elaborate inaugural ceremony of the new Sansad Bhawan:
The inauguration began with an early&morning havan, multi&faith prayer ceremony and installation of the Sengol in a special enclosure in the Lok Sabha chamber.
Modi, dressed in a crisp dhoti and kurta for religious ceremonies, performed Ganapati homam as part of the Vastu pooja rituals.
All&religion prayers along with spiritual strains of Shaivite hymns from the sacred Thevaram text set the tone for the ceremonial rituals. Priests from Sringeri Math of Karnataka performed the ceremonial Vastu pooja.
The central government released a commemorative postal stamp and a Rs 75 coin to mark the occasion.
The PM also pointed out that the construction of the new building gave employment to 60,000 workers and a digital gallery dedicated to them has also been built in the complex. He felicitated some of the workers for their key role in the construction, with shawls and souvenirs.
The formal inauguration function was attended by former president Ram Nath Kovind, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath among others. Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was the only non&NDA leader in attendance.
Chief ministers of NDA constituent parties such as Eknath Shinde (Maharashtra), Conrad Sangma (Meghalaya), Zoramthanga (Mizoram), Neiphu Rio (Nagaland), and Prem Singh Tamang (Sikkim) were present, along with ambassadors of several foreign countries, parliamentarians and people from different walks of life.
The old Parliament building took six years to complete, but the new building — spread over a built up area of 64,500 sqm — was ready in a record time of two&and&a&half years at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 1,200 crore. The Lok Sabha chamber has 888
seats, which can accommodate 1,272 members during a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The Upper House chamber has 384 seats.
Constructed by Tata Projects Ltd, the building opens into a central courtyard with a banyan tree. It has a grand Constitution Hall to showcase India’s democratic heritage, a lounge for MPs, a library, multiple committee rooms, dining areas and ample parking space. It has three main gates — Gyan Dwar, Shakti Dwar, and Karma Dwar.
It also has six new committee rooms and 92 rooms for use as offices for the council of ministers. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha chambers boast of a digitised voting system, well&engineered acoustics, and state&of&the&art audio&visual systems to ensure effective legislative proceedings.
Numerous artworks on display narrate the stories of India’s democratic traditions from the Vedic period to the present day. The growth of democracy is depicted through a series of exhibits in the Constitution Hall, which is inspired by the Sri Yantra used for worship in Hindu traditions and considered a source of pure energy. The public entrances lead to three galleries — the “Sangeet’ gallery that exhibits dance, song, and musical traditions of India; “Sthapthya’ gallery depicting architectural heritage of the country; and “Shilp’ gallery showcasing distinct handicraft traditions of different states.
The building has close to 5,000 artworks, including paintings, wall panels, stone sculptures, and metal murals. Interior decoration has peacock motif on carpets, ceiling and lattice work for windows in the Lok Sabha, while the Rajya Sabha is decorated with lotus motif. The Constitution Hall, which has a digitised copy of the Indian Constitution, houses Foucault’s Pendulum to demonstrate the rotation
of the earth. It hangs from a large skylight from the triangular roof and signifies the idea of India with that of the universe.
Massive brass images of Mahatma Gandhi, Chanakya, Gargi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, BR Ambedkar, and the chariot wheel from the Sun Temple
at Konark are on display.
According to officials, eminent musicians and their family members – Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar – have donated their musical instruments for the Sangeet Gallery.
Within a few minutes of hitting the national highway connecting the temple towns of Madurai and Rameswaram, large sign boards announce Keeladi to be just a kilometre away. A nondescript village till about a decade ago, Keeladi is now the cynosure of all eyes, as it has the potential to throw more light into the times and lives of ancient Tamils.
Discovered in 2014 by K Amarnath Ramakrishna, the superintending archaeologist with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) whose name is now synonymous with the village, Keeladi is a Sangam-era site believed to have existed at least 2,600 years ago on the banks of Vaigai river.
The excavations at Keeladi, 12 km southeast of Madurai, have thrown up ample evidence of an urban civilisation. While North India takes pride in the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) and Gangetic Plains Civilisation, the Keeladi excavations have shown that presentday South India too didn’t lack urbanisation.
“While IVC received the maximum focus, limited research was conducted to understand the genesis of urbanisation in other parts
of India. Artefacts unearthed from Keeladi highlight that it was part of the urbanisation process that took place in the larger Indian Ocean region. Such key settlements need to be identified and excavated. Research should be problem-oriented,” Dr V Selva Kumar, associate professor and head of the Department of Maritime History and Marine Archaeology, Tamil University, Thanjavur, told South First.
The ASI, which announced in 2017 that there were no significant findings in the third phase after unearthing 5,800 artefacts in the first two seasons, has estimated the period of existence of Keeladi to be between 300 BCE to 800 CE. The Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) has reported that Keeladi could be as old as 580 BCE, based on carbon dating of artefacts found in the fourth phase.
The ASI’s decision to pull out of the excavations in Keeladi and the sudden transfer of Ramakrishna to faraway Assam led to a huge outcry in Tamil Nadu against the BJP, which was accused of trying to downplay the significance of Keeladi as it would
How
not fit into its political narrative. However, the same BJP government at the Centre has now transferred Ramakrishna back to Tamil Nadu in 2021 to enable him to complete the report. How did Keeladi captivate the interests of not just historians and archaeologists but also the commoners?
How did this archaeological site change the legacy of the TNSDA in the past five years? Why are the findings at Keeladi significant? ‘A laboratory to prove Sangam literature’ Despite being the earliest known literature from South India, the exact period of the Sangam texts remains unknown; Keeladi could bridge this gap.
“Keeladi is a laboratory that provides archaeological evidence to Sangam literature, which is a commoners’ guide. Unlike epics that portray the lifestyle of the royal blood, Sangam literature depicts the social lives of the working class, the romance of the poor, and the challenges of traders,” R Sivananthan, commissioner, TNSDA, and director of Keeladi excavations, told South First. Eager to find further archaeological evidence to the mentions in several Tamil epics, the TNSDA is also exploring off-shore excavations in the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Korkai — believed to be a city of famed Pandya kingdom — to identify and assess archaeological potentiality.
Keeladi is the first large-scale excavation in Tamil Nadu to be carried out by the TNSDA, with digging extending to the length of 50 metres and depth of about three metres. The period of existence that the ASI and TNSDA has arrived at, through scientific methods including carbon dating of artefacts and other analysis, is significant with archaeologists and scholars in Tamil
Nadu believing that Keeladi could be linked to IVC though there is a “huge temporal” gap between the two.
While some scholars say the gap between the two is “narrowing down” with findings from Keeladi and in Sivakalai near Thoothukudi which threw up a date of 1115 BCE from carbon dating of rice husks, though those outside Tamil Nadu outright reject this hypothesis.
“It is premature to bring out any kind of similarities between the IVC and early historic sites in Vaigai Valley. The IVC represents the first urbanisation in India between 2600 BC to 1900 BC. When the IVC was flourishing, early agricultural settlements and hunter-gatherers were flourishing in the North of Tamil Nadu,” Ravi Korisettar, adjunct professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), told South First.
Whether it is connected to IVC or not, the most noteworthy conclusion from the excavation is that an urban civilisation did thrive in South India some 2,600 years ago, which is contemporaneous with the Gangetic Plains Civilisation of present-day North India. People in Keeladi were literate and sent their dead with utmost honour
as burial urns unearthed from nearby Konthagai had offering pots, carnelian beads, and husks in them.
“Though the difference in time period between IVC and Keeladi is around 2,000 years, the structures found at Keeladi have similarities with those in IVC,” Sivananthan said, expressing hope that excavations in further phases might provide better clarity. Since 2014, around 18,000 artefacts, notable among them a gamesman made of ivory, glass beads, ring wells, brick structures, male and female figurines made of terracotta, bangles, gold and silver, have been unearthed from Keeladi. Besides, tens of burial urns, offering pots of different shapes and sizes were also found in Konthagai, believed to be Keeladi’s burial site.
The artefacts found in Keeladi prove that the Tamils were the first literates in India, says Sundar G, director, Roja Muthiah Research Library, which has an exclusive research centre for IVC. “There were Tamil words inscribed on the pots excavated from Keeladi. Do you think kings used pots?” asked Sundar.
However, Prof Korisettar said, “They were all inscriptions in Brahmi referring to names of Tamilians. They adopted Brahmi script to write even though they spoke in Tamil. The first script was not invented by
Tamilians. Written language in India was introduced by Emperor Ashoka and we don’t have enough proof to declare that Ashoka borrowed Brahmi script from Tamil Nadu.”
Open channels, pots and tanks found at Keeladi indicate the existence of a flourishing dyeing industry. “The graffiti found at Keeladi has signs similar to those found at IVC. Dice from here have similarities to those excavated from northern Gujarat,” Sundar added.
Keeladi is an eye-opener in more ways than one for Tamil Nadu.
It helped create much-needed awareness on the ancient past of the Tamils and the need for archaeological excavations to dig into the past, showing to the world what the TNSDA is capable of. In other words, the TNSDA’s legacy can be written in two parts: Before and after Keeladi. The TNSDA, which was only carrying out small-scale excavations till 2016, stepped into the large shoes by taking on a large-scale excavation after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court ordered it to take up Keeladi in 2017.
Since then, there is no looking back for the TNSDA, which is preparing to launch the ninth phase of excavations in Keeladi and cluster sites and in seven other locations very soon. Before 2017, a posting at the TNSDA was perceived as a punishment with the state agency being forced to make its way with insufficient funds to carry out annual excavations. Sample this: The department received a paltry 10 lakh in 2013–14 to carry out excavations in Alagankulam and Srirangam. But Keeladi changed everything. In 2021–22, the DMK government sanctioned 5 crore to the TNSDA
for annual excavations. And luck seems to be smiling on the TNSDA from every corner. Bureaucrats who were given “punishment postings” in the TNSDA — and now holding key positions in the Stalin government — have also come to the agency’s aid. The files move faster than ever and the TNSDA is one of the favourite departments of the DMK dispensation with Stalin time and again expressing his view that India’s history should be rewritten from the Tamil landscape.
“This was not the case before Keeladi. The TNSDA endured stepmotherly treatment because there is no revenue generation here,” said a retired TNSDA official. Sivananthan added: “Before Keeladi, we were only focusing on small-scale, vertical excavations where the peak point of a site is excavated. With Keeladi, we are delving into horizontal excavations to prove a cultural sequence.”
Getting funds from the government was a Herculean task for the TNSDA before Keeladi. “Cash-crunched, they would dig up a five-metre trench a year when the ASI could do 10 times more of it. The primary reason for the non-allotment of funds was that the Finance Department itself was unaware of the importance of archaeology,” said Dr Selva Kumar. Keeladi was a turning point for the TNSDA not just in financial aspects, but also technology-wise.
“TNSDA collaborated with the renowned Beta Analytic Lab in Florida for AMS dating through which the existence of Keeladi was placed between 600 BC and 100 AD,” said Prof Korisettar.
The TNSDA doesn’t stop at digging and releasing reports on excavations. It is also taking up the
job of spreading knowledge. Built at a cost of 18 crore, the brand-new Keeladi Museum, conceptualised and now maintained by the TNSDA, was inaugurated by Stalin on 5 March.
The world-class public museum is spread over an area of 30,000 square feet and has six display halls with courtyards and huge open space, a first-of-its-kind initiative by the state government.
The TNSDA is also focusing on training the required manpower for further excavations and the agency recently celebrated the passing out of the first batch of students from two post-graduate diploma courses— archaeology and epigraphy, while it has also introduced a new diploma course on museology and heritage management. “These are two-year diploma courses. The department also provides 5,000 as a fellowship to a student. A lot of new recruits in the department were students of the TNSDA. These courses which once had eight students have the strength of 60 students,” the TNSDA commissioner said.
The agency is also tapping the potential of Indian institutions such as IIT-Gandhinagar (for metallurgy) and Deccan College, Pune (for physical anthropology). “We are collaborating with the Maritime Institute in Odisha to understand the Coromandel coast’s maritime trade with Southeast Asian Countries,” Sivananthan added.
By publishing the reports on various stages of excavation in 24 languages, the TNSDA outdid the ASI and ensured that archaeology is accessible to the general public. With the state government keen on digging into the lives of Tamils lived centuries ago and spearheading the efforts from all sides, interesting times are ahead.
The scenes of Chennai Super Kings’ captain MS Dhoni lifting Ravindra Jadeja after the allrounder’s match-winning cameo in the IPL 2023 final against Gujarat Titans will remain etched in memory forever. And with Dhoni’s participation in another IPL season not certain, Jadeja dedicated the win to the talismanic CSK skipper.
Needing 10 off the last two balls to reach the revised target of 171 in 15 overs in the rain-shortened final at Ahmedabad on Monday, Jadeja (15* off 6 balls) hit Mohit Sharma for a six and a four to complete a thrilling five-wicket triumph (DLS method) for CSK.
Gujarat had posted a mammoth 214/4, led by Sai Sudharsan’s blistering 96 off 47 balls. But it started raining in the first over of CSK’s runchase and the delay forced revision of the target.“I’d like to dedicate this
win to a special member of the CSK side, MS Dhoni,” said Jadeja.
“I was just thinking I need to swing hard, as much as I can. Where the ball will go, I was not thinking about that, just looking to swing hard. I was backing myself and looking to hit straight, because I
know Mohit can bowl those slower balls,” Jadeja added. “It feels amazing, winning my fifth title in front of my home crowd. I’m from Gujarat, and it’s a special feeling. This crowd has been amazing. They were waiting for rain to stop till late night. I’d like to say a big congratulations to the CSK fans who came to support us.”
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the anti-cow slaughter law in the state will be discussed in the upcoming cabinet meeting
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said that the anti-cow slaughter law in the state will be discussed in the upcoming cabinet meeting, as he defended his colleague and animal husbandry minister K Venkatesh’s statement that if buffaloes can be slaughtered, why not cows.
Venkatesh’s remarks, made in Mysuru on Saturday, evoked a sharp reaction from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which held protests across the state on Monday. The party also cautioned the Congress-led government from repealing the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020. Brought in by the previous BJP government, the law replaced
the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964, which stood repealed. The new law came into force in 2021.
Siddaramaiah said there was lack of clarity in the law brought in by the previous BJP government. “We will discuss it (reviewing of anti-cow slaughter law) in the cabinet and take a decision,” he told reporters. “We have not decided anything yet.”
Venaktesh had also suggested that slaughtering of aged cows could alleviate challenges faced by farmers. The chief minister backed his statement, saying that cattle over the age of 12 could indeed be slaughtered. “According to the 1964 Act [now repealed], there is a provision to slaughter cows that are over 12 years old and cannot be used in agricultural activities,” Siddaramaiah said. “That’s
what Venkatesh meant. He could not put it across clearly.”
The state animal husbandry minister K Venkatesh had said on Sunday, “If one can slaughter buffaloes and bulls, what is wrong with slaughtering cows?”
Reacting to Venkatesh’s remarks, former minister and BJP legislator V Sunil Kumar alleged that the Congress “loves neither the nation nor the cow”.
“Whatever Indian ethos that are followed by people, the Congress hates them. Rescinding the cow slaughter prevention Act is one such example,” Kumar told reporters in Karkala, his assembly constituency.
He added that the BJP will oppose any attempt by the Congress government to withdraw the anticow slaughter law.
“The BJP had formulated a law to prevent cow slaughter after holding a series of consultations
with the people. The Congress had raised objections even when the BJP passed it,” he said. “Congress leaders and ministers have been repeatedly stating that the government will withdraw the act and revise textbooks. These clearly indicate the aim of the Congress government.”
Another former minister Kota Srinivas Poojary of the BJP appealed to chief minister Siddaramaiah and other Congress ministers to understand the feelings of people.
“People have voted for you and you got elected as chief minister. But, that does not mean that you have all powers and do as you wish. If you bring amendments and changes to the cow slaughter prohibition law, members of the BJP will strictly oppose this and will fight against any move,” Poojary, a member of the legislative council, said.
“When the BJP was ruling, it brought the cow slaughter prohibition bill in both houses in support of farmers and to protect cows. This has
President Droupadi Murmu becomes Indian to be conferred with Suriname’s highest civilian award
Suriname conferred its highest civilian honour to President Droupadi Murmu- The Grand Order of the Chain of Yellow Star, the first Indian to receive this award. Murmu received the award from the President of the Republic of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi.
Murmu after receiving the award, said that the honour holds
tremendous significance not only for her but the people of India.
“I am greatly honoured to receive Suriname’s highest distinction, “Grand Order of the Chain of the Yellow Star.”
This recognition holds tremendous significance, not only for me but also for the 1.4 billion people of India whom I represent,” the President of India said in a tweet.
She dedicated the award to the “successive generations” of the Indian-Surinamese community.
become the law as Hindus worship the cow and it is necessary to protect them,” he added.
Amid uproar over the issue, Congress legislator Rizwan Arshad appealed the state government to consult farmers before making any decision regarding the law.
“Whatever is done should aim to take care of the interests of the farmers of Karnataka. Cow Slaughter is affecting the farmers of Karnataka. It is not a religious issue or a caste issue. It is the farmers’ issue. State government should seek consultation with farmers and take a decision,” Arshad added.
“I also dedicate this honor to the successive generations of the Indian-Surinamese community, who have played a stellar role in enriching the fraternal ties between our two countries,” she further said.
On the first leg of her state visit to Serbia and Suriname, President Droupadi Murmu arrived in Paramaribo, Suriname on June 4.
She was welcomed at the Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport with full state honours by Suriname’s President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, the official release of Rashtrapati Bhavan read.
Earlier today, President Murmu commenced her engagements with
the visit to the Presidential Palace in Paramaribo to meet her counterpart, President Santokhi.
She received a warm welcome from her counterpart Santokhi at the Presidential palace in Paramaribo. The President appreciated President Santokhi’s warmth and hospitality throughout the meetings. She was delighted to learn that Hindi is widely spoken in Suriname, which makes her remind of India. India and Suriname on Monday signed four major Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in the fields of health, agriculture and capacity building. The pacts were inked after Murmu and Santokhi held delegation-level talks. President Murmu led delegation-level talks between the two sides. Speaking on the occasion, the President said that she was happy to be in Suriname on her first State Visit as President of India when it is commemorating the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Indians in Suriname, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in an official release.
The ‘White Paper’, according to the BJP leader will show how the State government’s dependence on Tasmac for revenue can be avoided; BJP organised a protest condemning the State government for the recent tragedy in which 22 people died after consuming spurious liquor
Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai on Saturday said that his party will soon publish a “White Paper” which will show how the State government’s dependence on Tasmac for revenue can be avoided.
Addressing the media after a protest organised here by the BJP condemning the State government for the recent tragedy in which 22 people died after consuming spurious liquor, he said this would be the first time a party not in power would be bringing out such a report. He said the report would comprehensively show how the government could tap into alternative sources for
revenue, regulate Tasmac better, and drastically reduce the number of shops.
He said the report would expose the arguments of the DMK government that closing down of Tasmac shops would lead to increased prevalence of illicit liquor and loss of revenue to the government.
He alleged that no other State in the country had such a high number of liquor shops like Tamil Nadu. Arguing that the percentage of people addicted to alcohol has more than doubled than what it was in the past two decades, he said the Tasmac model followed in the State was becoming unsustainable.
He alleged that the State was not just dependent on the revenue
from Tasmac, but was actively trying to push the sales up by pressurising officials. He further alleged that the breweries run by those close to the ruling party were making huge money, a significant portion of which ought to be ideally going to the State exchequer.
He said the report to be brought out by his party would show how 80% of the Tasmac shops could be shut down in the near future. The party had organised protests in multiple places across the State on Saturday over the issue.
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the election of DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi as an MP from Thoothukudi Lok Sabha constituency in 2019. A Bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela Trivedi dismissed the election petition against Ms. Kanimozhi, represented by senior advocate P. Wilson, and allowed her appeal. The Supreme Court had stayed the election petition proceedings in the Madras High Court in 2020.
The judgment, authored by Justice Trivedi, held that the election petition filed by A. Santhana Kumar against Ms. Kanimozhi “made very bald and vague allegations without stating the material facts as to how there was noncompliance of any of the provisions of the Constitution of India or of the Representation of People (RP) Act.” Laying down the law, the court defined ‘material facts’ to include the complete bundle of facts that formed the basis of the allegations in an election petition.
Mr. Wilson had argued that Mr. Kumar had not brought a single material fact to substantiate his case that Ms. Kanimozhi’s nomination was improper. The High Court had proceeded on the notion that Ms. Kanimozhi refused to disclose the Permanent Account Number (PAN) of her spouse. Ms. Kanimozhi had submitted that her nomination records clearly stated that her husband did not have a PAN card.
“The appellant [Ms. Kanimozhi] has clearly mentioned that her spouse does not have a PAN number. If the first respondent [Mr. Kumar] herein contends that this statement is wrong, he ought to substantiate the allegation that the statement is incorrect. When the appellant has not made any averment that her spouse possesses a PAN or any
such card in Singapore, was it correct on the part of the High Court to frame such an allegation?,” Mr. Wilson asked.
Agreeing, the Supreme Court held that if Ms. Kanimozhi had “suppressed information about the PAN of her spouse and also about his non-payment of income tax in the foreign country, it was obligatory on the part of the election petitioner [Mr. Kumar] to state in the election petition what was the PAN of the spouse of the returned candidate in India that was suppressed by her and how the other details furnished about her husband in Form No. 26 were incomplete or false”.
The court laid down that in an election petition “not only positive statement of facts, even a positive statement of negative fact is also required to be stated, as it would be a material fact constituting a cause of action”.“Section 83(1)(a) of RP Act mandates that an election petition should contain a concise statement of material facts on which the election petitioner relies on, and which facts constitute a cause of action. Such facts would include a positive statement of facts as also positive averment of negative fact...,” Justice Trivedi held.
Arvind Kejriwal met with MK Stalin and said his Tamil Nadu counterpart has assured that the DMK will stand by the AAP against the Centre’s ordinance.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Thursday met with MK Stalin and said his Tamil Nadu counterpart has assured that the DMK will stand by the Aam Aadmi Party against the Centre’s ordinance on control over administrative services in the national capital.
“We discussed with him today the Centre’s ordinance against the Delhi government. It is undemocratic and unconstitutional. CM Stalin has assured that DMK will stand by AAP and the people of Delhi,” Kejriwal, in a joint press conference with Stalin, said in Chennai.
Kejriwal, reiterating his earlier request, said if all non-BJP parties come together, “we can defeat the Bill in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP holds only 93/238 seats”.
“I have come to CM Stalin to seek support, and I happy to say that we have the DMK’s support. It will be a strong message for 2024,” Kejriwal added.
Stalin said the DMK will strongly oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party government’s ordinance.
“Arvind Kejriwal is a good friend...Modi-led BJP government
is pressuring Delhi UT and AAP government there, by using Lt Governor. BJP government will bring an ordinance on Delhi and DMK will strongly oppose it. We had a discussion on other leaders’ views and I appeal to all leaders to support Arvind Kejriwal,” the Tamil Nadu chief minister said.
of Delhi,” he said in a tweet. The AAP national convenor has already met West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav.
The meeting with Stalin was Kejriwal’s nationwide tour, which began on May 23, to seek support from the Opposition parties against the ordinance. Kejriwal will meet Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on June 2.
“On June 2, I will meet the Chief Minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren ji in Ranchi. Will seek their support against the ordinance passed by the Modi government against the people
On May 19, the Centre brought an ordinance to notify rules for the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) regarding the ‘transfer posting, vigilance and other incidental matters’.
The ordinance was brought to amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 and it circumvents the Supreme Court judgment in the Centre vs Delhi case.
Amid rumours on State Cabinet reshuffle, BJP MLA representing Coimbatore South constituency, Vanathi Srinivasan, on Tuesday said that in the reshuffle, important portfolios should be allocated to the Scheduled Castes (SC) members. Taking to her official Twitter handle with a two-page statement, she wrote, “Real social justice is to give political power to Scheduled Castes (SC) members. In the cabinet reshuffle, the portfolios of important departments should be given to the Scheduled Castes (SC) members.” The BJP leader taking a dig at the ruling government said, “Nepotism is ruling the DMK’s Dravidian model just like Congress and other parties. No one needs this Dravidian model, which is anti-democratic, anti-equality, and anti-social justice. No one knows who will be the next leader of the BJP. Even a volunteer from a remote part of India can become a member of the BJP, Prime Minister, and Chief Minister. But, even after 100 years, we can now tell now who the DMK
leader will be.” She further added that CM Stalin, who talks about women’s rights has only appointed his son Udhayanidhi Stalin as the Sports Minister of the State, leaving his daughter behind. “Speculations are rife that Chief Minister MK Stalin will bring in major changes in the State Cabinet.
I hope that the Chief Minister will appoint members from the SC as Deputy Chief Minister and to other important portfolios”, she concluded. Earlier, State Irrigation Minister Duraimurugan called on Governor RN Ravi in connection with the rumoured Cabinet reshuffle, Duraimurugan said that it was up to the Chief Minister to decide on the cabinet reshuffle. The State Cabinet is likely to see its first significant reshuffle in two years since the DMK formed government in May 2021. At least a couple of first-time Ministers are likely to get the axe in the reshuffle, which is expected to happen before Chief Minister MK
Stalin’s likely foreign tour before the end of the month. Stalin, who has prepared the list based on the performance of the Ministers also learned to be contemplating changes in portfolios for nearly half a dozen Ministers. Meanwhile, the buzz in the corridors of power was that Palanivel Thiagarajan aka PTR could be divested of his finance portfolio and given a relatively small portfolio in the impending cabinet reshuffle. Government sources with knowledge of the Cabinet reshuffle disclosed to DT Next that CM Stalin has picked incumbent Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu to replace PTR as the Finance Minister.
Representing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, Sports & Youth Welfare Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin paid homage to industrialist Karumuttu T. Kannan, who died on Tuesday, at his residence in Madurai.
Accompanied by Ministers P. Moorthy and K.R. Periakaruppan and MLA G. Thalapathi, Mr. Udhayanidhi placed a wreath on the body and offered his condolences to the family.
Madurai District Collector M. S. Sangeetha, Corporation Commissioner Simranjit Singh Kahlon and others also expressed their condolences.
Earlier, Information Technology and Digital Services Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan had also
paid homage by placing a garland. He had also consoled Hari Thiagarajan, son of Mr. Kannan.
In a tweet, T.N. Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu said that Mr. Kannan was instrumental in establishing industries in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, through which numerous educated youth took to employment.
Apart from his role as the ‘Fit Person’ of the famous Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai, he was also a philanthropist and helped needy people in society, he said.
In a condolence message, TVS Motor Company, Chairman Emeritus, Venu Srinivasan said, ”I’m deeply saddened by this loss. To me Karumuttu T Kannan was more than a trusted colleague. He was a dear and loyal friend, who was a deep thinker and always there with his wise counsel.
He helped steer us through difficult times to now becoming an international player. Kannan had a rare prescience and sharp business acumen, but above all he was a man with tremendous social conscience who gave so much to society. Thiagarajar college is a testament to that as is his invaluable contribution to the Meenakshi Temple. He bore his responsibilities with grace, dignity, and a sense of purpose.”
BJP State general secretary R. Srinivasan, in a message, said that in the death of Mr. Kannan, Tamil Nadu had lost an illustrious son.
The educational institutions run by him were a symbol of philanthropy, as he had believed in disseminating knowledge to the youth. His death was a great loss, Mr. Srinivasan said
Police on Friday arrested a businessman for hiring two men to murder his wife at their residence in Morattupalayam village near Uthukuli. The henchmen and two others connected to the attempted murder were also arrested. Preliminary inquiries revealed that Manimaran had planned to murder his wife, Maankani, as she had come to know of his affair with a labourer working in their company.
Police said, Maankani, 35, lodged a complaint with the Uthukuli police on Friday. In her complaint, she accused two unidentified people of attempting to smother her with a pillow, when she was sleeping on the first floor of her residence around 2.40 am. The duo, however, fled when she raised an alarm. She alerted the police who reached the house and conducted an inquiry.
Maankani and her husband Manimaran, both from different communities had been in a relationship and married 14 years ago. Manimaran was running a
banian company named Dawn Man apparels in Tirupur for 10 years. He had shifted the company to his hometown one and a half years ago. While the family resides on the first floor, the banian company functions on the ground floor.
Manimaran had been having an affair with one of the labourers for the last 11 years. Maankani had recently learnt of her husband’s affair. Manimaran thus planned to have her murdered and assured his friend Velu, 34, from Nochikuttai in Dharmapuri district a sum of 2.50 lakh for getting it done.
Velu then contacted his friend Vivek alias Vivekananthan, 35, from Pappireddipatti in Dharmapuri to hire the henchmen. Vivek sent Munirathinam, 27, and R San Joseph, both from Pappireddipatti.
The Uthukuli police registered an attempt to murder case and arrested the five people on Friday afternoon. They were later remanded in judicial custody.
The weekend passed too quickly, right? Has the start of your workweek left you feeling sluggish or stressed out? Do you need more passion and motivation on Monday morning? If you’re nodding affirmatively, you are not just feeling the Monday blues but monotonous at work. It sounds like an everyday problem but it however is more than that or feeling tired. It has become so prevalent and
embedded deeply in the workplace culture of today’s fast-paced hybrid world that many take it casually and laugh it off by saying it’s “just the way things are.” It’s a serious sign that something isn’t right at work. World Health Organisation states that job monotony is one of the most alarming causes of work-related stress among working people.
Monotony at work can reduce creativity, productivity, and motivation. And this isn’t the end of the workplace saga. It can also be fatal to mental health, causing stress and leading to burnout, scientists suggest. Korn Ferry also said it’s one of the primary reasons people seek new jobs. Hence, with an amplified
focus on well-being, many are seeking innovative ways to decrease stress, burnout, and monotony at work. From incorporating a healthy work-life balance to trying to find meaning and purpose in work, read on these tips that will enable you to break free from monotonous days at work and help you stay engaged, motivated, and productive and stay on top of your game, whether working remotely or from office!
i. Follow a positive work-life balance:
To overcome work monotony is to create a positive work-life balance. This means finding ways to disconnect from work and focus on your personal life outside of the office. This could mean taking breaks throughout the day to walk or meditate or taking a vacation to recharge your batteries and by this one can reduce stress and improve your overall well-being.
ii. Develop new skills and take on new challenges
Develop new skills and take on new challenges and by this. Learning new competencies and taking on
The Tamil Nadu police have altered the cases relating to the deaths of 22 persons due to the consumption of spurious liquor to that of murder (Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code) against 13 accused persons.
Meanwhile, Governor R.N. Ravi sought a detailed report from Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu on the twin liquor tragedies in Villupuram and Chengalpattu districts. According
to official sources, the Governor wanted to know the cause of deaths, the action taken by the government, and the forensic report of the seized samples (of spurious liquor).
If it was not illicit arrack that led to the deaths of the victims, the Governor sought to know how over 1,000 persons were arrested across Tamil Nadu in connection with illicit arrack cases, immediately after the tragedy.
The query from Raj Bhavan comes after the Tamil Nadu police claimed that the spurious liquor tragedy had nothing to do with the brewing of illicit arrack and the victims had consumed methanol sourced from a chemical factory in Chennai and supplied in sachets to them by local-sellers, the sources said.
Soon after the deaths were reported in Marakkanam (Villupuram) and Chithanur (Chengalpattu), the Prohibition Enforcement Wing personnel and local police launched a drive against illicit arrack in all cities/districts. Director-General of Police C. Sylendra Babu had said that 1,842 cases had been registered, 1,558
persons arrested, and 19,028 litres of illicit arrack seized.
On Wednesday, the DGP said the Marakkanam and Chithamur police had altered the cases relating to the deaths of 22 persons to that of murder (Section 302 of IPC) against 13 accused persons. Confirming the arrest of Ilaya Nambi, owner of Jayasakthi Private Limited, he said the accused who owned the chemical unit faced losses during the COVID-19 pandemic and shut down operations. He sold 1,200 litres of methanol, stored in six barrels, to Barakathullah, alias Raja, and Elumalai for ₹66,000. Investigation revealed that the deaths of 22 persons in the two districts were caused due
to the consumption of this chemical supplied to the black market by Ilaya Nambi. Of the 1,200 litres of the methanol or poisonous arrack, 5 litres were sold in Marakkanam and three in Chithamur. The remaining 1,192 litres were seized within 48 hours.
Among those arrested was Viji, alias Vilambur Viji, a BJP functionary, on charges of transporting the methanol from the chemical unit in Chennai to Villupuram and Chengalpattu districts. Senior police officers and experts inspected 11 methanol manufacturing units and 71 factories using the chemical for various purposes across the State, and analysed the stock position.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson NV Subhash on Wednesday said that Telangana will become the gateway to the south for the party adding that people in the state are waiting for the BJP to come to power.
“Prime Minister’s visit is tentatively planned either this month end or first week of the July. It shows that the national leadership is very focused on this state as Telangana will be the gateway to the South for the BJP. Though the vote percentage in Karnataka has not deteriorated, although, the number of seats has reduced,” NV Subhash said.
“It does not mean that we have lost any credibility in Telangana. Telangana is in favour of the BJP because the people of this state have given opportunities to every political party. They are waiting for BJP to come into power,” he added.
He further mentioned that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is visiting Khammam on June 15 and BJP National President JP Nadda is visiting Nagarkurnool on June 25 as a part of BJP’s campaigning activity in the state.
“As part of the campaigning activity which will
be scheduled for this election, many more leaders will be concentrating on Telangana. We are also scheduling many leaders to visit all the districts in the state. So, this can be seen as a kick-off for the upcoming elections where many national leaders, state leaders and leaders from other states will also be visiting so that people in this state will be confident that if BJP comes into power,” he said.
He further stated that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government is facing anti-incumbency in the state.
“BRS government from past nine years have constantly been deceiving all sections of the people in the state. In order to fulfil their aspirations and to fulfil their party workers’ confidence, BRS leaders are saying that they will win around 90 to 100 seats. In most of the byeelections, corporation elections and others, BJP has won. This shows how people are angry about the BRS party,” he said.
‘The Kerala Story’ comes riding on a raging controversy. The filmmakers, director Sudipto Sen and creative producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah, insist that their film is based on the ‘true story of 32,000 young women’ from Kerala who were held captive in ISIS camps on the border of AfghanistanTurkey-Syria after having been converted to Islam.
Those who have been vociferously protesting, and this includes the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, have called the film out for being nothing but a clutch of blatant lies, and likened it to hate speech.
In the past week, this figure of ‘32,000’ which was mentioned in the film’s trailer, has been reduced to 3. This changes everything: the makers have practically admitted that their initial figure was highly exaggerated, and to extrapolate its sweeping claim from such a miniscule figure is nothing but gross misrepresentation.
The film itself is nothing but a poorly-made, poorlyacted rant which is not
interested in interrogating the social complexities of Kerala, an India state proud of its multi-religious, multi-ethnic identity. All it is intent upon is creating the most simplistic, paper-thin characters to tell us that Kerala is in danger because its innocent, naïve Hindu and Christian girls are being swayed by evil Muslim men, and radicalised to the point of no return.
Bright-eyed Shalini
Unnikrishnan (Adah Sharma) fetches up at a nursing college in Kasargod. Of her three roommates, one is Hindu, the other is Christian, and the third, Muslim, the kind of mix so easily to be found in
Kerala. Right from the get-go, Asifa (Sonia Balani) starts her mission of brain-washing the other three: girls who wear the hijab are safe from the lecherous eyes of men; other gods are weak; and only Allah can save the ‘kaafirs’ who will otherwise have to face (dozakh) hellfire and damnation.
Personable young men whose job is to ensnare and impregnate unsuspecting young women, and crafty maulvis are part of the mix, and within no time at all, Shalini, Nimah (Yogita Bihani) and Geetanjali (Siddhi Idnani) have fallen under Asifa’s spell.
just how presumably educated young women — the literacy levels in Kerala have always proudly been the highest in the country — can become quite so enamoured of an ideology so much at odds with what they’ve grown up believing (or not: one of them is an atheist) would have lent ‘The Kerala Story’ welcome depth. But that’s not the kind of film this is, replete with such incendiary lines as ‘poore Kerala ko time bomb ke oopar rakha gaya hai; former deputy CM ne kahaa hai ki agle bees saal mein Kerala Islamic state ban jayega’ (all of Kerala has been placed on a time bomb; the former deputy CM has said that in the next twenty years, Kerala will become an Islamic state)’.
No one seems to have ascertained whether the reallife person being alluded to actually ever said this, or has it been twisted out of context?
All the Muslim figures in the film are dark and intimidating, and ‘love jihad’ is their weapon of choice. Shalini aka Fathima Ba (Adah is a competent actor, but is made to cry and snivel through the film) finds out she’s pregnant and instantly behaves as if it’s the end of the world: she is studying to be a nurse, these are modern times, has no one heard of medical terminations?
Her journey from Kerala to Sri Lanka to the ISIS camps where the Taliban reign, is filled with the most gruesome visuals — men and women and animals are hacked to pieces — and she ends up being flung into a group of women who are condemned to being ‘sexslaves or suicide bombers’. It is nobody’s case that the terrible events as experienced by the handful of real-life women from Kerala, or by women from other parts of the world brutalised by the Taliban, did not happen. But to claim that it is the definitive ‘Kerala Story’ and its 32,000 women, is patently false. After two hours plus of being battered by a barrage of bad-Muslims-
who-are-completing-the-jobAurangzeb-left-hanging (not kidding, this is an actual line in the film), and listening to jibes at ‘Communists’, you wonder why those who want to create effective propaganda have not learned the tricks of the trade from the master, Leni Riefenstahl? At least then we would have been something to look at.
When a film shines a light on different aspects of an issue, it creates space for reflection and conversation, and you come away with food for thought. What about a film which does exactly the opposite? As a viewer you get to decide what you want from your film.
MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Thursday demanded the resignation of governor R N Ravi for his remarks against Dravidian model of governance. Describing chief minister M K Stalin’s ‘good governance’ based on the model as a ‘pioneer’ for other states, Vaiko told reporters in Trichy that governor Ravi was acting as if he was ruling the state.
“As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, none of his opinions can be accepted. He acts like an agent of BJP. If he wants to be an agent of hindutva, he can work for them after he resigns as governor.
Or, he should be sacked,” Vaiko said. Ravi had termed the Dravidian model an expired ideology in an interview to The Times of India recently.
Vaiko said that continuation of governor Ravi in his post will not augur well for Tamil Nadu. On the reshuffling of Tamil Nadu cabinet, Vaiko said the chief minister Stalin did what Tamil Nadu needed.
institutions this year. The actual number of students admitted to government schools this academic year could be ascertained after the reopening of schools during the second week of this month.
Tamil Nadu School Education Minister, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Friday claimed schemes such as ‘Pudhumai Penn’, and 7.5% reservation for government school students in professional courses have resulted in higher enrolment of students in government educational institutions.
Talking to reporters in Thanjavur on the sidelines of a function organised by the District Education Department in association with an NGO, the Minister said so far around 80,000 new students have enrolled in government educational
In the last two years, around 11 lakh fresh enrolments in government schools were recorded, the Minister said and added it was due to the implementation of schemes such as “pudhumaipen” and the 7.5% horizontal reservation for students from government schools in admissions to professional courses.
Referring to the steps initiated by the Transport Department to ensure the safety of children was not compromised in the vans operated by the private schools, he said the School Education Department had also issued fiats to educational institutions in this regard.
Brushing aside the charges
that several government schools were to commence their operations this academic year without the head of the institution, Mr. Poyyamozhi said the vacant headmaster posts have been filled up temporarily by way of allotting additional charge in view of the ongoing legal battle of whether the posts were to be filed up based on seniority or merit fought in the Supreme Court.
In the last two years, around 11 lakh fresh enrolments in government schools were recorded, the Minister said.
KK Ramesh, a resident of Madurai, has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court against the proposed Pen Statue to be built in memory of former chief minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) supremo M Karunanidhi.
This is the second PIL to be filed against the proposed Statue. Earlier, in February, a group of fishermen had filed a PIL.
Ramesh has asked the Court to direct the Tamil Nadu government and the Union Ministry of Environment to drop the project as it could harm the coastal ecosystem.
Further, he alleged that state government departments had granted permission in haste.
The PIL comes days after a plea against the Pen Statue by D Jayakumar, the Organising Secretary of the All India Anna
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
The proposed Pen Statue would be 42 metres tall and it would be built in the sea at a distance of 360 metres from the coast. It would be made accessible from the existing Karunanidhi memorial near Marina Beach in Chennai through a bridge.
It is expected to cost the state exchequer around Rs 80 crore.
While the total project area would cover 8,551.13 square metres, about 2,263 square metres of sea area would have to be reclaimed for building the monument.
In April, the Union Environment Ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) cleared the proposal with certain conditions. It now awaits a No-objection certificate (NOC) from INS Adyar, which is stationed in the area.
Ukraine. To raise awareness about the importance of the ocean and promote its sustainable use and protection, the United Nations designated every June 8 as World Ocean Day.
How does plastic end up in the ocean?
Plastics are the most common form of ocean litter, comprising 80 percent of all marine pollution. Most plastics that end up in the ocean come from improper waste disposal systems that dump rubbish in rivers and streams.
Plastics in the form of fishing nets and other marine equipment are also dumped into the ocean by ships and fishing boats.
Besides plastic bags and containers, tiny particles known as microplastics also make their way into the ocean. Microplastics, which are less than 5mm (one-fifth of an inch) in length, are a major environmental concern because they can be ingested by marine life and cause harm to both animals and humans. While research on the health effects of human consumption of microplastics is limited, some studies have indicated that microplastics can accumulate in organs such as the liver, kidneys and intestines. There are concerns that microplastic particles could potentially lead to inflammation, oxidative stress and cellular damage.
According to UNESCO, 8-10 million tonnes of plastic are released into the sea every year. On World Ocean Day, Al Jazeera visualises what that looks like.
Every year, about 400 million tonnes of plastic products are produced around the world. About half are used to make single-use items such as shopping bags, cups and packaging material.
Of these plastics, an estimated 8 million to 10 million tonnes end up in the ocean each year. If flattened to the thickness of a plastic bag, that is enough to cover an area of 11,000sq km (4,250sq miles). That is about the size of small countries like Qatar, Jamaica or the Bahamas.
At this rate, over the course of 50 years, plastic waste could grow to an area bigger than 550,000sq km (212,000sq miles) – about the size of France, Thailand or
“These little particles in the ocean were breaking into little pieces and being consumed by the wildlife living there at an almost unimaginable scale. The main problem is that pieces of plastic contain toxic chemicals and these chemicals are already known to interfere with human
hormones and animal hormones. They may cause the accumulation of toxins in the body that may lead to ill effects over time,” science writer and author Erica Cirino told Al Jazeera’s The Stream programme.
Which countries are the source of the most plastic in the ocean?
According to a 2021 study published by Science Advances research, 80 percent of all plastics found in the ocean comes from Asia. The Philippines is believed to be the source of more than a third (36.4 percent) of all plastic waste in the ocean followed by India (12.9 percent), Malaysia (7.5 percent), China (7.2 percent) and Indonesia (5.8 percent). These amounts do not include waste that is exported overseas that may be at higher risk of entering the ocean.
Which countries are the source of the most plastic in the ocean?
According to a 2021 study published by Science Advances research, 80 percent of all plastics found in the ocean comes from Asia.
The Philippines is believed to be the source of more than a third (36.4 percent) of all plastic waste in the ocean followed by India (12.9 percent), Malaysia (7.5 percent), China (7.2 percent) and Indonesia (5.8 percent).
These amounts do not include waste that is exported overseas that may be at higher risk of entering the ocean. Plastics that find their way into the ocean end up floating on the surface for a long time. Eventually, they sink to the bottom and get buried in the seafloor.
Plastics on the surface of the ocean represent 1 percent of the total plastics in the ocean. The other 99 percent are microplastic fragments far below the surface.
Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin underlined that DMK will play an important role in the Opposition grouping against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“DMK has an important role to play in this Opposition alliance because we have always been against BJP,” Udhayanidhi Stalin told ANI ahead of the Opposition parties’ meeting in Patna on June 23.
Tamil Nadu CM and DMK chief MK Stalin had also recently spoken along similar lines and said that “more than who forms the government, we should be clear who shouldn’t form the government.
Opposition parties should unite and don’t fall prey to BJP’s divisive tactics.”
The Opposition meeting at Patna is aimed to unite like-minded parties and to chalk out strategies against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government at the Centre in the general elections next year.
Notably, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former President Rahul Gandhi have already confirmed their presence at the meeting.
President Biden is asking voters to keep him in the White House until age 86, renewing attention to an issue that polls show troubles most Americans.
There was the time last winter when President Biden was awakened at 3 a.m. while on a trip to Asia and told that a missile had struck Poland, touching off a panic that Russia might have expanded the war in Ukraine to a NATO ally. Within hours in the middle of the night, Mr. Biden consulted his top advisers, called the president of Poland and the NATO secretary general, and gathered fellow world leaders to deal with the crisis.
And then there was the time a few weeks ago when the president was hosting children for Take Your Child to Work Day and became mixed up as he tried to list his grandchildren. “So, let me see. I got one in New York, two in Philadelphia — or is it three? No, three, because I got one granddaughter who is — I don’t know. You’re confusing me.” He also drew a blank when asked the last country he had visited and the name of a favorite movie.
The two Joe Bidens coexist in the same octogenarian president: Sharp and wise at critical moments, the product of decades of seasoning, able to rise to the occasion even in the dead of night to confront a dangerous world. Yet a little slower, a little softer, a little harder of hearing, a little more tentative in his walk, a little more prone to occasional lapses of memory in ways that feel familiar to anyone who has reached their
ninth decade or has a parent who has. The complicated reality of America’s oldest president was encapsulated on Thursday as Congress approved a bipartisan deal he brokered to avoid a national default. Even Speaker Kevin McCarthy testified that Mr. Biden had been “very professional, very smart, very tough” during their talks. Yet just before the voting got underway, Mr. Biden tripped over a sandbag at the Air Force Academy commencement, plunging to the ground. The video went viral, his supporters cringed and his critics pounced.
Anyone can trip at any age, but for an 80-year-old president, it inevitably raises unwelcome questions. If it were anyone else, the signs of age might not be notable. But Mr. Biden is the chief executive of the world’s most powerful nation and has just embarked on a campaign asking voters to keep him in the White House until age 86, drawing more attention to an issue that polls show troubles most Americans and is the source of enormous anxiety among party leaders.
The portrait that emerges from months of interviews with dozens of current and former officials and others who have spent time with him lies somewhere between the
partisan cartoon of an addled and easily manipulated fogy promoted by Republicans and the image spread by his staff of a president in aviator shades commanding the world stage and governing with vigor.
It is one of a man who has slowed with age in ways that are more pronounced than just the graying hair common to most recent presidents during their time in office. Mr. Biden sometimes mangles his words and looks older than he used to because of his stiff gait and thinning voice.
Yet people who deal with him regularly, including some of his adversaries, say he remains sharp and commanding in private meetings. Diplomats share stories of trips to places like Ukraine, Japan, Egypt, Cambodia and Indonesia in which he often outlasts younger colleagues. Democratic lawmakers point to a long list of accomplishments as proof that he still gets the job done.
His verbal miscues are nothing new, friends note; he has struggled throughout his life with a stutter and was a “gaffe machine,” to use his own term, long before he entered Social Security years. Advisers said his judgment is as good as ever. So many of them use the phrase “sharp as a tack” to describe him that it has become something of a mantra.
Mr. Biden says age is a legitimate issue but maintains that his longevity is an asset, not a liability. “You say I’m ancient?” he said at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April. “I say I’m wise.” Still, few people fail to notice the changes in
one of the nation’s most public people. As vice president a dozen years ago, Mr. Biden engaged in energetic squirt gun battles each summer with the children of aides and reporters. More than a decade later, he shuffled stiffly across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., to mark the anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
Polls indicate the president’s age is a top concern of Americans, including Democrats. During a recent New York Times focus group, several voters who supported Mr. Biden in 2020 expressed worry, with one saying: “I’ve just seen the blank stare at times, when he’s either giving a speech or addressing a crowd. It seems like he loses his train of thought.”
Unease about Mr. Biden’s age suffuses Democratic circles. One prominent Wall Street Democrat, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid offending the White House, noted that among party donors it was all anyone was talking about. At a small dinner earlier this year of former Democratic senators and governors, all of them in Mr. Biden’s generation, everyone at the table agreed he was too old to run again. Local leaders often call the White House to inquire about his health.
In private, some officials acknowledge that they make what they consider reasonable accommodations not to physically tax an aging president. His staff schedules most of his public appearances between noon and 4 p.m. and leaves him alone on weekends as much as possible. Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, Mr. Biden’s deputy White House chief of staff, though, insisted his age has not forced changes to his schedule. “Nothing beyond what is done for any president regardless
of their age,” she said. A study of Mr. Biden’s schedule based on data compiled by Axios and expanded by The New York Times found that Mr. Biden has a similar morning cadence as the president he served, Barack Obama. Neither had many public events before 10 a.m., just 4 percent in Mr. Obama’s last year in office and 5 percent in Mr. Biden’s first two and a half years. But the real difference came in the evening. Mr. Obama was twice as likely to do public events after 6 p.m. compared with Mr. Biden, 17 percent to 9 percent.
Aides limit exposing the president to news media interviews when he could make a politically damaging mistake. He has given just a fourth of the interviews Donald J. Trump did in the same time period and a fifth of Mr. Obama’s interviews — and none at all to reporters from a major newspaper. Mr. Biden has not given an interview to the news department of The Times, unlike every president since at least Franklin D. Roosevelt other than Dwight D. Eisenhower. And in the past 100 years, only Ronald Reagan and Richard M. Nixon have subjected themselves to as few news conferences.
White House officials have not made Mr. Biden’s doctor available for questioning, as previous presidents have. In February, Kevin C. O’Connor, the White House physician, issued a five-page letter stating that Mr. Biden is “fit for duty, and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.”
But he also wrote that the president’s tendency to walk stiffly is “in fact a result of degenerative (‘wear and tear’)” changes in his spine, and partly the result of “tighter hamstrings and calves.” The letter said there were “no findings
which would be consistent with” a neurological disorder like stroke, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. He takes medicine for atrial fibrillation, cholesterol, heartburn, asthma and allergies.
Like many his age, Mr. Biden repeats phrases and retells the same hoary, often fact-challenged stories again and again. He can be quirky; when children visit, he may randomly pull a book of William Butler Yeats off his desk and start reading Irish poetry to them.
At the same time, he is trim and fit, exercises five days a week and does not drink. He has at times exhibited striking stamina, such as when he flew to Poland then boarded a nine-hour train ride to make a secret visit to Kyiv, spent hours on the ground, then endured another nine-hour train ride and a flight to Warsaw. A study of his schedule by Mr. Biden’s aides shows that he has traveled slightly more in the first few months of his third year in office than Mr. Obama did in his.
“Does he ramble? Yes, he does,” said Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey, a Democrat who categorically rejects the idea that Mr. Biden is too old to be president. “Has he always rambled? Yes, he has. Public and private. He’s the same guy. He’s literally — I’m not saying this lightly. I don’t know anyone else in my life who is so much the same guy privately as he is publicly.”
How Times reporters cover politics. Times journalists may vote, but they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. That includes participating in rallies and donating money to a candidate or cause. Some friends bristle at the attention to his age. “I think the reason this is
an issue is primarily because of the media talking about it constantly,” said former Senator Ted Kaufman, a longtime adviser to Mr. Biden from Delaware. “I do not see anything in my dealings with him that age is a problem. He’s done more than any president has been able to do in my lifetime.”
Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, noted that Republican hard-liners were grousing that Mr. Biden had gotten the better of Mr. McCarthy in the fiscal deal. “It’s telling that the same extreme MAGA members of Congress who’ve been talking about his age complained this week that he outsmarted them on the budget agreement,” Mr. Bates said.
The question of Mr. Biden’s age does not come in isolation, of course. Mr. Trump, his likeliest Republican challenger, is just four years younger and was the oldest president in history until Mr. Biden succeeded him. If Mr. Trump were to win next year, he would be 82 at the end of his term, older than Mr. Biden will be at the end of this one.
While in office, Mr. Trump generated concerns about his mental acuity and physical condition. He did not exercise, his diet leaned heavily on cheeseburgers and steak and he officially tipped the scales at 244 pounds, a weight formally deemed obese for his height.
After complaining that he was overscheduled with morning meetings, Mr. Trump stopped showing up at the Oval Office until 11 or 11:30 a.m. each day, staying in the residence to watch television, make phone calls or send out incendiary tweets. During an appearance at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he had trouble lifting a glass of water and seemed to have trouble making his way down a modest ramp. Most
striking was Mr. Trump’s cognitive performance. He was erratic and tended to ramble; experts found that he had grown less articulate and that his vocabulary had shrunk since his younger days. Aides said privately that Mr. Trump had trouble processing information and distinguishing fact from fiction. His second chief of staff, John F. Kelly, bought a book analyzing Mr. Trump’s psychological health to understand him better, and several cabinet secretaries concerned that he might be mentally unfit discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him.
But perhaps because his bombastic volume conveys energy, Mr. Trump’s issues are not associated with age in the public mind as much as Mr. Biden’s are. In a recent Reuters/ Ipsos poll, 73 percent said Mr. Biden is too old to be in office, compared with 51 percent who said the same of Mr. Trump.
Mr. Biden manages his day with more discipline than his predecessor. Jill Biden, who teaches at Northern Virginia Community College, gets up around 6 a.m. while the president wakes an hour later, according to accounts he has given. Mr. Biden has told aides that their cat sometimes wakes him in the middle of the night by walking across his face.
By 7:20 a.m., the first lady leaves for work. Mr. Biden works out at 8 a.m.; he has a Peloton bicycle in the residence and is known to watch shows like “Morning Joe” on MSNBC. He arrives at the Oval Office by 9 a.m. for a morning usually filled with meetings. For lunch, there is a rotation of salad, soup and sandwiches. Following afternoon events, the president returns to the residence around 6:45 p.m. For dinner, pasta is a favorite. In fact, one former official said, whenever he travels, aides make sure there is
always red sauce on hand for pasta to finish his day — even as he balks at the salmon that his wife urges on him.
From 8 p.m., the Bidens often read their briefing books together in the living room of the residence. The first lady typically turns in at 10:30 p.m. and the president follows a half-hour later. Aides say it is clear he actually reads the briefing books because of the questions that follow. “There’s no one who is better at asking questions to get to the bottom of an issue, calling your bluff, asking the tough questions,” said Stefanie Feldman, the White House staff secretary. “He asks just as tough questions today as he did 10 years ago.”
Some who accompany him overseas express astonishment at his ability to keep up. When Italy’s new leader pushed for a meeting while the president was in Poland, he readily agreed to add it to the already packed schedule. During a trip to Ireland, people with him said he was energized and wanted to talk at length on Air Force One rather than rest.
Still, after fatiguing days on the road, he skipped dinner with world leaders in Indonesia last year and again in Japan in May. Others who have known him for years said privately that they have noticed small changes. When he sits down, one former official said, he usually places a hand on his desk to hold his weight and rarely springs back up with his old energy.
He speaks so softly that he can be hard to hear. For speeches, aides give him a hand-held microphone to hold close to his mouth to amplify his voice even when standing at a lectern with mounted microphones. Yet aides said that while he can momentarily
forget a name or fact, he retains a formidable memory for detail. Preparing to travel to Shanksville, Pa., on the 20th anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he became frustrated that officials had given him the wrong plan for his movements.
He had been to the memorial before and knew the plan made no sense because he remembered the layout of the grounds.
White House officials voice aggravation that concern about age is inflated by pictures on the internet that are sometimes faked or highly distorted. Every week, strategists conduct a word cloud analysis with a panel of voters asking what they had heard about the president, good or bad.
After Mr. Biden’s foot got caught in the toe cage of his bicycle and he tumbled over last year, the two words in the bad-word cloud for weeks were “bike fell” — all the more frustrating for aides who noted that Mr. Trump hardly seemed capable of even riding a bike.
Mr. Biden lately has turned to self-deprecating humor to defuse the issue, taking a cue from Mr. Reagan, who won re-election in 1984 at age 73 in part with a well-timed debate quip about not exploiting “my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”At the correspondents’ dinner, Mr. Biden assured the audience that he supported the First Amendment, and “not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it.” During the Take Your Child to Work Day event, he looked back on “when I was younger, 120 years ago.” And at the Air Force Academy a few days ago, Mr. Biden joked that “when I was graduating from high school 300 years ago, I applied to the Naval Academy.” After tripping on the sandbag, he sought to laugh that off too. “I got sandbagged,” he said.
The High Court of Karnataka has quashed the sanction granted by the State government for prosecuting three former staff of Bengaluru central prison on charges of corruption in providing preferential facilities illegally to former AIADMK leader V.K Sasikala when she was lodged in the prison for serving sentence in a corruption case against former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
Justice K. Natarajan passed the order while allowing the separate petitions filed by three accused prison staff against whom the charge sheet was filed after the government in 2021 granted separate sanction for their prosecution.
The petitions were filed by Gajaraja, who was then serving as subinspector of police in Karnataka State Industrial Security Force deputed to the central prison security, Anitha R., the then Assistant Superintendent of central prison, and Krishna Kumar, the then Chief Superintendent of the central prison. All three of them are now serving in different posts in other places.
Meanwhile, the court said that the government could consider grant of sanction afresh for prosecuting Mr. Kumar by proper application of mind.
The High Court of Karnataka has quashed the sanction granted by the State government for prosecuting three former staff of Bengaluru central prison on charges of
corruption in providing preferential facilities illegally to former AIADMK leader V.K Sasikala when she was lodged in the prison for serving sentence in a corruption case against former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
Justice K. Natarajan passed the order while allowing the separate petitions filed by three accused prison staff against whom the charge sheet was filed after the government in 2021 granted separate sanction for their prosecution.
The petitions were filed by Gajaraja, who was then serving as subinspector of police in Karnataka State Industrial Security Force deputed to the central prison security, Anitha R., the then Assistant Superintendent of central prison, and Krishna Kumar, the then Chief Superintendent of the central prison. All three of them are now serving in different posts in other places.
Meanwhile, the court said that the government could consider grant of sanction afresh for prosecuting Mr. Kumar by proper application
of mind. The main reason cited by the court for quashing the sanction was “non-application of mind” by the authority competent to grant sanction. The court pointed out that the sanctioning authority had ignored the fact that the investigating agency had not filed charge sheet against H.N. Sathyanarayana Rao, a retired Director-General of Police (Prisons) who was named as main accused in the first information report (FIR) lodged by the government itself, while granting sanction for prosecuting the petitioners. “The State has issued the sanction order [against Mr. Gajaraja] simply mentioning ‘final report’ of the police and without any discussion or satisfaction,” the court said, pointing out that there was no specific allegation against Mr. Gajaraja attracting provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
On sanction granted to Dr. Anitha, the court noted that the sanctioning authority had dropped the departmental inquiry against her on the same allegation after the administrative tribunal set aside the inquiry.
However, the court pointed out that the same authority, ignoring dropping of departmental inquiry, accorded sanction for her prosecution on the same charges without application of mind.
On the charges against Mr. Kumar, the court said that there was no specific allegation against him regarding any demand for bribe or its acceptance, as allegations were limited to giving high security and protection to Ms. Sasikala though there was no threat to her life. The competent authority ignored dropping of similar charges against Dr. Anitha, and had not filed charge sheet against the former DGP (Prisons) while granting sanction for prosecuting Mr. Kumar, the court said.
Dr P. Thiaga Rajan (PTR) is no longer finance minister of Tamil Nadu. In a cabinet reshuffle announced Thursday, PTR has been allocated the information technology and digital services portfolio instead — a move political observers are terming a ‘big demotion’.
Thangam Thenarasu, who was industries minister earlier, has been appointed the minister for finance and human resources management in his place.
Thenarasu will also oversee the pension, economics and statistics and archeology departments.
As announced on 9 May, three-
time Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) legislator Dr T.R.B. Rajaa — the son of party treasurer and MP T.R. Baalu — was inducted into the state cabinet and given the industries portfolio.
Minister for information and publicity, M.P. Saminathan, has been given Tamil development as an additional portfolio. And Mano Thangaraj, who was earlier minister for IT and digital services, has been appointed minister for milk and dairy development.
The milk and dairy development portfolio was earlier held by DMK MLA S.M. Nasar, who was dropped from the cabinet on 9 May.
The Raj Bhavan, which issued the updated list of cabinet portfolios Thursday, said the Governor had approved the changes on the recommendation of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.
Reacting to the reshuffle, PTR took to Twitter to say that the last two years had been the “the most fulfilling” in his life and that “despite inheriting record deficits and debt ratios, we (state government) have invested in a record number of social welfare schemes as well as record capital spending, all while delivering record-setting fiscal improvements”.
“This is the epitome of my public service, and indeed of my life,” he added.
PTR also thanked CM Stalin for the opportunity to serve in the cabinet, while adding that he plans to “build on the great efforts of my predecessor Mani Thangaraj to attract more investments, accelerate job-creation, and deliver growth at a pace that will re-establish Tamil Nadu as a leading state in IT”.
He also said that he hoped his experience in “establishing and managing a pioneering Global Capability Centre 15 years ago” and connections in the IT and ITES (Information-Technology Enabled Services) gained during his career as an investment banker, would enrich his efforts in his new role.
The reshuffle comes close on the heels of the Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) releasing two audio clips purportedly of PTR being critical of the DMK and its first family.
While PTR dismissed the two audio clips as “fabricated”, CM Stalin reacted to the audio clips by saying that he didn’t want to “publicise those indulging in cheap politics” — an apparent dig at state BJP chief K. Annamalai.
Asked what the reshuffle meant for PTR, political analyst Sumanth C. Raman told ThePrint, “Change in PTR’s portfolio was expected but not so soon. Now, this will be connected directly to the audio files.”
“This is a big demotion for him (PTR),” Sumanth added.
According to political analyst G.C. Shekhar, PTR’s clean image is why the claim that he can be heard in the purported audio clips as saying that Stalin’s son Udayanidhi and sonin-law V. Sabareesan are controlling the party, “gave greater credibility to what Annamalai has been saying”.
Udayanidhi, the minister for youth welfare and sports development, sent a legal notice last month to Annamalai, seeking Rs 50 crore in damages over the purported audio clips — dubbed ‘DMK Files’.
Reacting to the cabinet reshuffle, BJP state vice president Narayanan Thirupathy said in a tweet Thursday that if CM Stalin “did not accept” that PTR was “incompetent in handling the finance portfolio, then it is obvious that he was shifted for the audio leaks”.
“If he accepts so, then he has to apologise for appointing an incompetent person to manage the state’s finances,” Thirupathy added.
Taking over the finance portfolio from PTR is five-time MLA Thangam
Thenarasu, who Sumanth said, “did a good job as the industries minister in Stalin’s cabinet so far”.
Thenarasu was the school education minister in DMK patriarch late M. Karunanidhi’s government (2006-11). He represents the Tiruchuli constituency in Virudhunagar district and is the son of two-time MLA V Thangapandian, who was minister for cooperation in Karunanidhi’s cabinet (1996).
His sister Thamizhachi Thangapandian is DMK Lok Sabha MP from the South Chennai constituency.
Meanwhile, commenting on Rajaa’s induction into the cabinet, Sumanth termed it a “big elevation for a first-time minister”.
Mano Thangaraj, who has been allocated the milk and dairy development portfolio, played a key role in revamping the state’s startup infrastructure with the Startup TN initiative and the Umagine Chennai platform.
He also oversaw the ideation of iTNT Hub, which is India’s first emerging and deep tech innovation network.
As for Nasar’s exit from CM Stalin’s cabinet, political analysts attribute it to the workers’ issue that has caused disruption in Aavin milk production.
Earlier this year, Nasar was also embroiled in two controversies. In the first, he was caught on camera hurling a stone at a DMK worker purportedly over delay in bringing him a chair, while in the other, he was photographed shoving a DMK functionary on the stage during an event following Udayanidhi’s elevation as minister.
AIADMK general secretary
Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday criticised former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and AMMK general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran, describing them as two betrayers who have joined hands.
Referring to a recent meeting between Mr. Panneerselvam and Mr. Dhinakaran, the AIADMK leader said, “As far as we are concerned, it is like a mud horse joining hands with Maayaman (a magical deer chased by Lord Ram in Ramayana). Zero plus zero is equal to zero. Both Mr. Panneerselvam and Mr. Dhinakaran have termed each other a betrayer in the past. Now, the two betrayers have joined hands.”
Former Minister Panruti S. Ramachandran was never true to any party, Mr. Palaniswami said. “He moved to the PMK from the AIADMK, and then to the DMDK. Mr. Ramachandran does not have the qualities to become a branch secretary of the AIADMK. During the Panneerselvam-Dhinakaran meeting, leaders like Vaithilingam, Manoj Pandian and J.C.D. Prabhakar were not present, Mr. Palaniswami said. Reiterating his allegation that Mr. Panneerselvam was the ‘B team’ of the DMK, Mr. Palaniswami claimed that a few days ago, the expelled AIADMK coordinator met Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s son-inlaw, Sabareesan. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday criticised former Chief
Minister O. Panneerselvam and AMMK general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran, describing them as two betrayers who have joined hands.
Referring to a recent meeting between Mr. Panneerselvam and Mr. Dhinakaran, the AIADMK leader said, “As far as we are concerned, it is like a mud horse joining hands with Maayaman (a magical deer chased by Lord Ram in Ramayana). Zero plus zero is equal to zero. Both Mr. Panneerselvam and Mr. Dhinakaran have termed each other a betrayer in the past. Now, the two betrayers have joined hands.”
Former Minister Panruti S. Ramachandran was never true to any party, Mr. Palaniswami said. “He moved to the PMK from the AIADMK, and then to the DMDK. Mr. Ramachandran does not have the qualities to become a branch secretary of the AIADMK. During the Panneerselvam-Dhinakaran meeting, leaders like Vaithilingam, Manoj Pandian and J.C.D. Prabhakar were not present, Mr. Palaniswami said. Reiterating his allegation that Mr. Panneerselvam was the ‘B team’ of the DMK, Mr. Palaniswami claimed that a few days ago, the expelled AIADMK coordinator met Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s son-inlaw, Sabareesan.
He claimed that corruption allegations were the reason for the Cabinet reshuffle. “The government was shaken by an audio clip (released
by BJP State president K. Annamalai), purporting to show the then Finance Minister and current Information Technology Minister, P.T.R. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, making allegations of corruption against Mr. Sabareesan and Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. If Mr. Rajan is removed from the Cabinet, more such audio clips will surface. Fearing such a scenario, the Chief Minister decided against dropping Mr. Rajan from the Cabinet. Mr. Rajan is an economist and a highly educated person. Hence, his remark was not an ordinary one,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
“We raised several complaints about irregularities in Aavin. S.M. Nasar’s removal (as Dairy Development Minister) from the Cabinet proves that our allegations were true,” Mr. Palaniswami said. As for the case registered against him for allegedly furnishing false information in the Assembly election affidavit, Mr. Palaniswami said, “The person who filed the case was a DMK cadre. We will face the case. I did not buy any property after becoming an MLA in 1989. Even in 2009, such allegations were made against me.”
