Sonia Gandhi, Karunanidhi and Tirumavalavan !!!

Mr. M. Karunanidhi and Ms. Sonia Gandhi have a lot to answer about their alliance partner in Tamil Nadu, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (Liberation Panthers Party, or VCK) headed by Tirumavalavan, supported of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Is this threesome a triangle, a tango or a tangle? Even a casual look at their stance on the issue of LTTE shows to what depths the Congress has sunk, for a few crumbs in the Lok Sabha. Karunanidhi, as is his wont, has maintained in recent times that the DMK and the Congress have similar secular and social justice ideologies, and that the DMK and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi share similar ideology. Does this mean this is an equilateral triangle?

Actually, this does not reveal the equation between the Congress and the VCK. It should be uneasy, at least on the Sri Lankan issue, where the VCK is embarrassingly pro-LTTE while Congress, at least in public, condemns the LTTE. Yet it is also true that Ms. Priyanka Vadra secretly visited Nalini, convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, in Vellore, ostensibly to make a pact on behalf of her mother with the LTTE. It seems that the Roman Catholic Sonia Gandhi is not averse to mixing politics with forgiveness for her husband’s murderers.

Three partners – Two forums
This strange equation, and Karunanidhi’s claim of unity amongst his alliance partners, bears closer scrutiny.

Tirumavalavan and a handful of equally nondescript leaders started an organisation called “Forum for the Protection of Lankan Tamils.” Not to be surpassed by an upstart like Tirumavalavan, M. Karunanidhi, champion chauvinist of world-wide Tamils, announced his own Forum to protect the Tamils of Sri Lanka. However, the Tamil Nadu Congress is not Tamil enough (or independent enough) to start a similar forum; neither did it announce its subscription to any of the Forums started by its allies in the State.

India leading Lankan Genocide
“It is India that is fighting the Sri Lankan Tamils. It is India that is in the forefront of the genocide of the Tamils” – Tirumavalavan.
It this startling view shared by the Congress and the DMK? A joint statement from both parties would have cleared the air for voters to decide. So far there is silence.

CIA, not LTTE, did it!
“Rajiv Gandhi was not assassinated by the LTTE, he was murdered by the CIA” –Tirumavalavan.

Does Congress believe and endorse this claim? Is this the reason for Sonia Gandhi trying to pardon her husband’s murderers who are languishing in jails for no fault of theirs (sic)? Is this the reasons for Priyanka’s secret visit to Vellore to meet Nalini to perhaps make a secret pact on behalf of her mother, as is being suggested in various quarters?

It is interesting that till this day, the location of their meeting, admitted on both sides, remains secret; the Vellore Jail authorities have denied that the meeting took place on the jail premises, and there has been a studied silence thereafter.

Neither forgive nor forget
Congress kept chanting: “We will neither forgive nor forget the murder of Rajiv Gandhi.”
Does this mean that Congressmen do not endorse their ally, Tirumavalavan’s assertion that it was not LTTE, but the CIA, which was behind Rajiv’s gruesome assassination? In that case, where does this leave the Jain Commission Report and its needles of suspicion that point awkwardly at unwanted times?

Lay down arms and surrender - Pranab
Mr. Pranab Mukherjee stated: “the LTTE should lay down its arms and surrender.” Does Tirumavalavan endorse his views?
On the contrary, Tirumavalavan said: “asking the LTTE to surrendering arms amounts to insulting the entire Tamil race.” So Congress has insulted the Tamils!
And what is Karunanidhi’s stand? Does he support the Congress or the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi?

Cheers. Vote for DML led congress Tiruma Alliance…
Congressmen routinely demanded the arrest of Tirumavalavan. DMK maintained a discrete silence. The VCK keeps growling. What alliance partners!
“The Indian Government should be put in the dock and the Tamils should punish it” – said the oracle Tirumavalavan. What an alliance partner!

We won’t tolerate burning of Sonia’s pictures - Karunanidhi
Does Congress approve of the burning of the photos of its leaders, Rajiv and Sonia, by the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi just before the countdown to this election? Why did the Tamil Nadu Congress chief scream that the party condemns this act and yet continue to have VCK in the alliance basket?

Mr. Karunanidhi thundered that he would not tolerate the burning of Sonia’s pictures. It now transpires that he was referring to the pro-LTTE advocates (affiliated to VCK) who went on a Sonia photo-burning spree recently in the Madras High Court premises, and NOT the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Party officials who burnt every Sonia picture in the city except the one the Governor has installed at Raj Bhavan.
Confused? Welcome to Tamil Nadu.

There is neither Anbu (love) nor Azhagu (beauty) in this statement
“The DMK is neither Pro nor Anti-LTTE.” This ‘brilliant’ statement was released by DMK’snaam-ke-vaaste Number 2, Anbazhagan. Does Congress believe this to be the DMK’s official stand on the LTTE? Where does this leave Tirumavalavan?

Why didn’t Congress and the DMK participate in the VCK rally in support of separate Tamil Eelam? It is the stated policy of the Government of India that New Delhi is opposed to a separate Tamil Eelam. Yet it is the UPA Tamil allies who daily chant Tamil Eelam. Mr. Karunanidhi would by now have promised to end his life a million times in his public speeches for this cause; sadly for the Tamils of Tamil Nadu, he is known not to act on his words.

Human chain with missing links
Why didn’t Congress rally behind the DMK’s human chain programme in support of Lankan Tamils (read LTTE), that brought Chennai traffic to a halt for more than 6 hours?
When Tirumavalavan announced his fast unto death and fasted for two days, he received no support from either of his alliance partners. What’s going on?

Handover Prabhakaran to India – Moily
Did Mr. Veerappa Moily obtain prior sanction from Tirumavalavan and Karunanidhi before stating that, “The Sri Lankan Government should handover Prabhakaran to India”?

“Moily’s wishes will not be granted” - was Tirumavalavan’s repartee to the demand. Great unanimity!

Thank you Congress - We will destroy you
Mr. Karunanidhi recently thanked the Centre for the steps it has taken on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue. The VCK in turn shrieked: “We will destroy the Congress.” It went on a rampage at the Congress headquarters in Chennai, smashing windows, furniture and a few Congressmen assembled there - because of economic recession!

Avoid Sonia : Karunanithi's Master Stroke

Anybody wondered why suddenly our CM was admitted in the hospital. He suppose to attend an election rally with Sonia today (Wednesday, 6th may 2009).

Considering all the factors of Srilankan problem and Indian government contribution especially Silent Sonia, the ONLY option avaialable was to avoid the joint rally with Sonia to reduce the public anger.




He achieved two in one benifit by getting admitted in the hospital. One he avoided the joint rally with Sonia and second Sonia herself cancelled her rally in TN.





Who thought Sonia would cancel her rally in last minute, But our political Chanakya would have expected.. thats the reason he is still there at Hospital !!!

Eelam Effect - Sonia cancels election rallies in TN

Congress President Sonia Gandhi's election rallies in Chennai and Puducherry were on Wednesday,6th May-2009 cancelled due to security reasons, police sources said.

Pro Sri Lankan Tamil organizations had announced that they would stage demonstrations against Gandhi's visit.

The UPA chairperson was originally scheduled to arrive here, go to Puducherry and fly back to Chennai to address a rally later in the afternoon in support of Congress and DMK candidates for the May 13 Lok Sabha polls.

While police sources said the rallies to be held on Wednesday have been postponed, no fresh date has been

TN Poll Pulse - DMK front on the backfoot

With just a week left for the fifth and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the DMK-Congress combine is on the backfoot in Tamil Nadu. An indisposed Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi is unlikely to share the dais with Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her rallies Wednesday.
DMK insiders admit the party is seriously handicapped.

The DMK, Congress, PMK and the Left parties fought the 2004 elections jointly and won all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, dealing a humiliating blow to the AIADMK, which has vowed to hit back this time. Five years later, the tables have turned with the Left parties and the PMK aligning with the AIADMK.

According to DMK sources, Karunanidhi may address a rally live from his hospital bed or residence to avoid strain. Karunanidhi has so far addressed only one election meeting. He fell ill Sunday and is expected to be confined to the hospital for one or two more days.

According to police sources, Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul are set to address meetings in Chennai and in Puducherry Wednesday under heavy security. Virtually the entire Tamil Nadu political spectrum has accused the Congress of covertly aiding Sri Lanka's military offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which is outlawed in India.

Workers of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a DMK ally and rabidly pro-LTTE, attacked their Congress counterparts at the latter's headquarters here a few months ago.
Congress workers are said to be working against VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan in Chidambaram constituency. The latter are returning the compliment in neighbouring Puducherry.

AIADMK leader Jayalalitha has termed the VCK presence in the Congress grouping "a strange alliance between sympathisers of the assassins of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and his widow".

Buttressed by the presence of the PMK, MDMK and the two main Left parties in its front, the AIADMK is confident of bagging a majority of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu -- and also Pudhucherry's lone seat.

Actor-turned-politician Vijaykant's DMDK is fighting on its own. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is unlikely to win any seat in Tamil Nadu.

The situation has clearly changed since December when the DMK-Congress combine won the Tirumangalam assembly by-election with a sizeable margin.

Support to UPA Govt not ruled out : Yechury

Although CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat had ruled out support to a Congress-led Government at the Centre, politburo senior member Sitaram Yechury on Monday said that the party's next step would be decided only after the Lok Sabha elections.

Yechury while addressing mediapersons said, "We will decide what will happen post-election, but right now our objective till the elections are over is the third alternative. However, we do not think the need to support a Congress-led Government will arise.

When asked about the Karat's comment, in Kolkata recently, that the Left would not provide support to a Congress-led coalition again, Yechury replied, "I do not know in what context he had said this. We will meet and decide what will happen post-election."

Yechury also said that the Congress leaders were saying after the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections that they would acquire support of the Left if the opportunity to form a Government appeared.

"But this is an admission of their realisation that they are not coming back to power. Our objective is to form a Third Front Government and we are confident about that Yechury added further.

Also when asked if the Left was proposed to support a Congress-led coalition minus Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister, he replied they were not concerned about individuals, but issues.

Vaiko's Email to Obama !!!

Marumalarchi DMK (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko has sought the intervention of US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to save the lives of thousands of Lankan Tamils from starvation.

In an Email to them, he urged the two leaders to take immediate steps to send food materials to the starving Tamils only through international agencies like the International Red Cross, without involving the Sri Lankan Government.

He said to hoodwink the international community, the Lankan Government had cunningly enacted a drama of telecasting the supply of food to very few Tamil people in select safe zones.

Mr Vaiko said the ''most shocking tragedy taking place in the island of Sri Lanka is that 3,50,000 Tamils are subjected to virtual starvation. Children, elderly people and women are dying without any food.'' ''The Sri Lankan Government headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa has diabolically determined to decimate Tamil people, subjecting them to total starvation,'' the MDMK leader alleged.

Ottavio Quattrochchi and Eelam !!!

Jayalalitha drew a parallel between India's letting off Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrochchi and the continued attacks on Tamils in Sri Lanka.

"Prime Minister Singh defended Quattrochchi being let off the hook saying 'one should not torture the weak'. Naturally, our suffering Tamil brethren in Sri Lanka are not (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi's compatriots and relatives from Italy to be treated nicely thus," she said.

AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha Monday reiterated her promise to create an independent state for Tamil minorities in Sri Lanka "the same way as (late prime minister) Indira Gandhi liberated Bangladesh".

Addressing an election meeting here, the former Tamil Nadu chief minister said: "If a (party or alliance) that heeds our demands comes to power at the centre, I assure you that I shall take steps to create a Tamil Eelam in the same way as Indira Gandhi liberated Bangladesh."
She also accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of turning India into a "Banana Republic" by aligning with the US.

"Manmohan Singh has turned India into a Banana Republic aligned with the global sinister designs of the US and its military and economic exploitation of the world," she said addressing a large crowd of supporters in this town, 200 km southwest of the state capital Chennai with a sizeable number of Muslims.

She criticised the US for its attacks against Muslim allies of India like Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan and its alleged support to the Sri Lankan government for the military offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels.

Congress - What a Secular Party !!!

Congress party claimed to be a true secular party. And they are telling the entire country that the only communal party is BJP. Here is the wonder !!!

How come the Congress accepting a party which had tie with BJP before?BJD was with BJP for more than 9 years and they are separate now.. Congress was telling BJD will support Congress government.

Now Congress saying JD(U) will support congress. JD(U) is the important ally for BJP and part of NDA. Where is the credibility of being secular party of Congress? If they are really and truly a secular parthy they must not accpet any party which had ally with BJP.

On Monday AICC spokesperson and junior Union home minister Shakeel Ahmad said that Congress will have no agreement with JD(U) until it snaps its ties with BJP.

This was contrary to the statement made by the Congress leader and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday. She said that JD(U) might join Congress after the Lok Sabha elections.

Shakeel said that Congress would have no hostility with JD(U) if Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar continued to be with BJP. He said that Nitish kept silent when BJP announced that Gujrat Chief Minister Narendra Modi would be the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate for 2014 Lok Sabha elections. "People of Bihar are very wise and they can well understand the political arithmetic of JD(U)," he said.

Ahmad also said that Congress would alone contest assembly elections in Bihar. No understanding with RJD will be there at any cost, he said.

Shakeel further said that CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat had recently said that the Left would not carry Congress's palanquin this time. Left leaders are also making objectionable statements and under these conditions Congress cannot think of continuing relations with them.
Ahmad refused the obligations that the UPA Government at the Centre was biased against the BJP-ruled states.

Congress is also yet another power hungry political party.. after all !!!

Vijayakant: Solo stunt in Tamil Nadu !!!

Tamil movie hero-turned-politician Vijaykant is known to have performed stunts in films without a duplicate. In these Lok Sabha polls too, he and his party DMDK are going solo. And all eyes are on the 56-year-old man known as 'Karuppu (Black) MGR'.

Political circles are debating the impact of the 'V' (Vijaykant) factor on their fortunes. Balloting will be held for all 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu May 13.

The DMDK is hoping to increase its vote share to 20 percent in this ballot, up from the 8.3 percent it got in the 2006 assembly elections, the DMDK's K. Pandiarajan told IANS.
Can Vijaykant repeat what hero-turned-politician M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) achieved in the 1970s and 1980s?

MGR, who founded the AIADMK in 1972, was the first Indian film hero to get elected as chief minister (in 1977), sowing political ambitions in several movie stars across the country.

However it was only N.T. Rama Rao (NTR) in Andhra Pradesh who was able to match MGR in floating a new party and capturing power.

Comparing Vijaykant with MGR, a leader of a national party said on condition of anonymity: 'Vijaykant is attracting MGR's vote base - Dalits, youth and the middle class. Today the middle class is divided among the DMK, the Congress and the AIADMK. The DMDK may get around 100,000 votes in each constituency. It will be interesting whose vote the DMDK would eat into - the DMK's or the AIADMK's.'

There are others who say Vijaykant cannot be compared with MGR -- as a movie star or even as a politician. According to them, MGR was the number one hero during his time and most of his movies were great hits. In contrast, Vijaykant, even at his peak, was ranked only after Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan and not all his movies were blockbusters.
MGR used his movies not only to build an impeccable image for himself but also spread his political message even when he was in the DMK before he launched the AIADMK.

So strong was his appeal that when he was expelled from the DMK in 1972 for asking the party to make its accounts public, people believed him and voted him to power -- and he ruled for a decade until his death in 1987.

'In those days people were innocent. NTR was considered Vishnu's reincarnation after playing roles like Rama and Krishna. With the advent of satellite channels and the increase in literacy levels, it is very difficult to cultivate that kind of image,' said a political activist.

S. Thirunavukarasar, the BJP national secretary and a long time member of the AIADMK, told IANS: 'MGR was in a different era. When the AIADMK was floated by him, the DMK was the only major force in the state. The Congress didn't have a leader with mass appeal. Today there are several political parties.'

Congress MP E.N. Sudarsana Nachiappan said: 'Votes for Vijaykant are akin to invalid votes. Only in certain constituencies does his party have chances of getting something near 20 percent votes. The people of Tamil Nadu can differentiate between state and central elections.'

Echoing similar views, BJP Tamil Nadu unit president L. Ganesan said: 'He (Vijaykant) is trying to create an impression that he is the alternative to the DMK and the AIADMK. That is a farce.'

No entry for politicians !!!

Kangra (Himachal Pradesh): Residents of the rugged, inhospitable areas comprising more than 40 villages here have barred politicians from canvassing. They are boycotting the elections until they are assured that they won't be asked to move out of the Dhauladhar Wildlife Sanctuary.
"No entry for politicians", read banners of the Chhota Bhangal and Bara Bhangal panchayats having more than 10,000 voters in Kangra parliamentary constituency.

Residents of Swar village under the Chhota Bhangal panchayat said this was their last resort to draw the attention of authorities to their problems.

"The government is forcing us to move out of the Dhauladhar Wildlife Sanctuary... this is not possible. The decision (to rehabilitate villagers) would affect the livelihood of thousands of tribal people," Bhrigu Nath, village head, said.

"Till date no politician has dared to visit our area. We will also boycott the polls," he added.

The panchayats are part of the Dhauladhar Wildlife Sanctuary, which spreads over 944 sq km with altitudes above 3,000 metres.

"We have petitioned the government several times. Now, election is the best time to highlight our grievances," Bara Bhangal panchayat head Bhim Singh said.

He said after the notification of the sanctuary their entry into the forest had been banned and their local rights had come to an end.

"The government should come out with a proper rehabilitation plan," he added.
Congress sitting MP Chander Kumar, who is re-contesting the elections from Kangra, said: "We are aware of their problems. We will again try to delimitate the boundaries of the sanctuary to minimise rehabilitation of villagers."

Similarly, Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Rajan Sushant said: "Our government will come out with a proper rehabilitation plan for the affected villages. Arrangements would be made for generating employment opportunities for them."

Interestingly, the state's remotest polling station is also located in Bara Bhangal.
"Bara Bhangal is not accessible by road. It's the remotest polling station in the state. It is 65 km from the last village that is connected by road. Election material will be sent there either through porters or airlifted," Himachal Chief Electoral Officer Anil Khachi said.

"The polling exercise is a difficult task in the state as 43 polling stations are located at a distance of 10 km or more from the last place connected by road," he said.

The hill state has 2,257,310 women voters out of 4,604,832 in all. The highest number of voters - 1,199,820 - is in the Kangra parliamentary constituency, followed by Hamirpur (1,187,704), Mandi (1,111,787) and Shimla (1,105,521).

Polling for the four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh - Shimla, Kangra, Mandi and Hamirpur - is scheduled for May 13.

No more shoes !!! Its Brick now !!!

Actor politician Karthik,founder of Nadalum Makkal Katchi (NMK), contesting from VirdhunagarLok Sabha constituency under the BJP-led front, escaped unhurt when a brick was hurled at him during his campaigning at Sennalkudi near here yesterday.

While addressing people at Sennalkudi, a man from the crowd threw a brick at him. He ducked and the brick missed him.

The people in the crowd chased the man and found that hewas an AIADMK supporter and handed him over to the police

Are the Poltiticians practising true Secularism?

India is claimed to be a true secular country. But is it truly secular and is true secularism being practiced by the politicians who are part of the constitution.? The answer is a definite NO.

Equal opportunities is only on paper in the constitution. Reservations where envisaged and planed for only a couple of decades by those stalwarts immediately after Independence. But this has been extended purely out of political motive by generations of power hungry politicians. Not only has the term been extended, but also the list has been extended to enlist more of so-called socially backward classes.

The minority appeasement has almost been the main agenda promoted by Nehru immediately after Independence, which the Congress has today mastered it to an art.

To quote another important aspect of governance. It is only the Hindu temples, which comes under the Govt. control called Hindu Endowment and charitable ministry. The mosques or the churches are independent and autonomous bodies, with no control of their operations. Especially, the inflow of foreign exchange and the expenditure. Whereas the Hindu temple revenues are plundered by the Govt. Mis-appropriated, misused and swiped clean by the politicos.

One example will clearly indicate the direction the country was planned to proceed during the initial period of Independence. Nehru objected to the Somnath temple being reconstructed from Govt. funds and insisted that the money should be obtained from public for the same. In 1948, Nehru forced Sardar Patel to renovate the mosques from Govt. funds.

The muslims are enjoying the Haj subsidy to Mecca. Y S Rajasekhar Reddy the CM of Andhra a staunch Seventh Day Adventist has announced that a bill will be passed for providing subsidy for christians to travel to Israel on similar lines as the Haj subsidy. All these funds for the subsidy are the funds looted by the govt. from Hindu Temples through the Hindu Endowment and charitable ministry. While on the contrary, Hindus will have to pay tax for going to Amarnath temple, in their own land. Isnt this the height of Secularism.

This is actually Pseudo-secularism initiated by Nehru and today it has been mastered into an art.

Ready to go to Jail : Narendra Modi

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he was ready to go to jail if his involvement in the 2002 Godhra riots was proved.

"I will abide by the Supreme Court directives and fully cooperate in any probe. I am willing to go to jail if my involvement is proved by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the post-Godhra riots," he said at an election rally here.

"The criminals like Quattrocchi are getting bail, and Indians are being put into jails. I am ready for any challenge and would not kneel down," Modi added.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the SIT to probe the role of 64 people, including that of Modi in the post-Godhra riots cases.

The apex court order was passed in response to a petition filed by Congress parliamentarian Ehsaan Jaffery.

The court asked the SIT to submit the report within three months.

Meanwhile in Ahmedabad, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishna Advani said the Supreme Court directive on the post-Godhra investigations was not a jolt to the BJP.

"The SC order is for an inquiry to be instituted and its directives would be followed by the party," Advani said.

BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley also spoke against the action, and said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is being used by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government.

"The CBI took three years to file an FIR against criminals like Quattrocchi. It was the UPA government which asked the CBI to let Quattrocchi go.

E.V.K.S Elangovan is an Economic Refugee : Bharathiraja

Veteran movie director Bharathiraja Friday said that his attempt to chase all “Tamil traitors” from the state would begin May 4 from the temple town of Kanchipuram.

“All those who are Tamil traitors, supporting the intentions of the Sinhalese chauvinists against the Tamil ethnic minority in Sri Lanka have no place in Tamil Nadu,” Raja told reporters here.
Reacting to questions on his itinerary focusing only on Congress nominees’ constituencies, Raja said: “We are focusing against all those contestants whose parties have stabbed Tamils in the back and forced them to suffer a fate worse than those of Jews earlier in the Middle-East.”

Raja described Union Minister E.V.K.S. Elangovan as an “alien residing in the state purely as an economic refugee”.

Elangovan is the grandson of late Tamil social reformer Periyar E.V. Ramaswami Naicker.
Directors Seeman (presently on bail after being detained under the National Security Act for anti-national speeches), Sunderrajan and R.K. Selvamani besides a number sympathizers of the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also addressed the journalists.

Seeman speech not unlawful: Madras HC

Madras High Court has quashed Tamil Film Director Seeman's detention under the NSA for allegedly speaking in favour of the banned LTTE at a public meeting in Palayamkottai holding that the speech did not attract the provisions of the Unlawful Assembly Prevention Act.

A Division Bench, comprising Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Justice C T Selvam, quashed the detention orders on a Habeas Corpus Petition filed by S James Peter, brother of Seeman.

"Considering the facts and circumstances of the case we are of the view that mere delivery of a speech in a meeting would not tantamount to form unlawful activities and attract sec 13(1)(b) and 13(2) of the Unlawful Assembly Prevention Act and thereby affect the sovereignty of the country," the Bench said.

Moreover, there were no consequential unlawful activities in pursuance of the speech delivered by Seeman, the Bench held.

The petitioner had claimed that according to the Supreme Court if a person did not have any intention or design to further the activities of any terrorist organisation or indulge in terrorist acts it could not be termed as unlawful activities.

Gandhi and Gandhiji !!!

Jawaharlal Nehru(not a blood relation of Gandhiji) kept the name Indira Gandhi because of his overwhelming respect on Mahatma Gandhiji.

Indira Gandhi's children should be called as Rajiv Bhatliwala and Sanjay Bhatliwala because their father's name is Feroz Bhatliwala(Husband of Indira Gandhi). Just to gain political mileage they are calling themselves as Gandhi family.

Send Indian Army to SL to form Eelam : Jaya

With the Srilankan issue taking the centre stage in Tamil Nadu polls, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagam (AIADMK) supremo Jayalalithaa has said that if a government of her choice is formed at the centre she would send Indian army to Sri Lanka to form a separate Tamil Eelam.

Addressing an election meeting on Wednesday, Apr 29 said, "If a central government of my choice is formed, I will steps to send our troops to Sri Lanka to form separate Eelam."

Launching an assault on the Congress for criticising her of not knowing the international law, she recalled the incidents of Indira Gandhi sending the Indian Army to form Bangladesh and Rajiv Gandhi sending IPKF to Sri Lanka.

Jayalalitha’s Eelam talk ‘irresponsible’ : Congress

The Congress party Sunday termed AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha’s demand for a separate ‘Eelam’ homeland for Sri Lankan Tamils as “anti-national and irresponsible”.

“I see this demand as anti-national and irresponsible,” union Minister Kapil Sibal told IANS reacting to the statement of the former Tamil Nadu chief minister who Saturday supported a separate Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka as the only solution to the decades-old ethnic strife in the island nation.

“We have been asking for a ceasefire. It is not enough. Sri Lankan Tamils should get justice and lead a normal life. They should get all rights that are available to the Sinhalese. For this, a separate Eelam is the only way,” Jayalalitha said.

“I will definitely do it. To form a separate Eelam, vote for the AIADMK-led alliance,” she said at an election meeting in Salem

Counter Punch - DMK would welcome separate Eelam: Mr. Karunanidhi

The DMK would welcome creation of a separate 'Eelam', a homeland for Sri lankan Tamils, if it was achieved through a democratic process, party president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said on Monday.

"We will be glad if a separate Eelam (state) is created (in the Island nation) by people voting for it," he told reporters here.

He said that "attempts of some opposition parties in Tamil Nadu to paint the UPA government at the Centre and the DMK government in the state as anti Sri Lankan Tamils" would not succeed.

"The opposition parties are trying to create an illusion among the public that my party is against Sri Lankan.

A polite request: Don’t ask for votes !!!

Residents of Kalka town in Haryana, the gateway to the cool environs of Himachal Pradesh, have made a seemingly polite request to politicians. They have put up banners outside their homes and shops asking leaders not to seek votes.

“Kripya vote maang kar sharminda mat karen” (Please don’t embarrass us by asking for votes) say the banners that have been prominently displayed outside most buildings.
The residents are up in arms against a demolition drive carried out by local authorities against their illegal structures at the orders of a court.

The order was aimed at constructions encroaching upon the busy Chandigarh-Shimla national highway that were resulting in frequent traffic jams. People are upset that politicians did not help when the demolition was being carried out.

We are against backdoor PMs: Prakash Karat

In an indirect reference to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat said Sunday that Left parties will work towards making a Lok Sabha member the country’s next prime minister.

The CPI-M leader said that the right candidate for the post of prime minister will be decided once the Third Front is in a position to form the next government, and if that happens Karat wants the Congress to support them in the similar way the Left supported the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2004.

Karat told a news channel that they have seen “Rajya Sabha members becoming prime ministers” but this time they will work towards “making a Lok Sabha leader the country’s next prime minister.”

Karat pointed out that there is no prime ministerial candidate from the Left parties at present and even a Third Front candidate would be decided once poll results are out.
The Congress, however, has cleared that Manmohan Singh, a Rajya Sabha member, is its prime ministerial candidate for this elections.

Manmohan Singh has damaged institution of PM: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had “damaged the institution of the PM” for saying that the case relating to Ottavio Quattrocchi was an “embarrassment” to the Indian government.BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley told the CNN-IBN television channel that the “case was damaged by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) under this government”.

Manmohan Singh had “damaged the institution of the PM”, he charged.

Jaitley was responding to remarks the prime minister made in his interview to the channel.

Manmohan Singh said: “The Quattrocchi case is an embarrassment for the government of India. We have tried to extradite him from Malaysia. We have tried to extradite him from Argentina. We have failed. The court says we do not have a strong case.”

The prime minister added: “It’s not a good reflection on the Indian legal system that we harass people while the world says we have no case. The Interpol had asked the government of India that why do you want to treat him under the Red Corner notice.”

Italian businessman Quattrocchi is a suspect in the Bofors gun purchase payoff scandal of the late 1980s.

Jaitley said if a BJP-led government came to power after elections, it would investigate all such cases “where the government had colluded with the CBI” to help the accused.
In November 2008, the CBI under the advice of the attorney general asked the Interpol to remove Quattrocchi’s name from its look-out notices.

The revelation earlier this week created a furore with the opposition accusing the Congress-led government of trying to hush up the case.

Quattrocchi, accused by the CBI of receiving millions of dollars in commissions for helping to fix the $1.4 billion gun deal, was detained in February 2007 in Argentina on the basis of an Interpol warrant, while he was holidaying with his wife.

PM defends CBI's move ! Says Ottavio Quattrocchi case - An Embarrassment for India !!!

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has defended the CBI's move to remove Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, key accused in the Bofors kickbacks scam, from its wanted list and withdrawal of an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him by saying the case had become an "embarrassment" for the government.

"It is not a good reflection on the Indian legal system that we harass people while the world says we have no case," said the PM breaking his silence on the Quattrocchi case. His remarks to a TV channel, even as trial court proceedings are still on, amount to a virtual exoneration of Quattrocchi who has been on the run from CBI for more than a decade, and confirms government's keenness to wind up the Bofors probe.

"Quattrocchi case is an embarrassment for the government of India -- we tried to extradite him from Malaysia...from Argentina -- and the courts said we don't have a strong case. Before the matter was referred, Interpol asked India why do you want to keep him under a RCN -- the law minister referred to AG (attorney general) who gave advice that it should be lifted," the PM said.
The remarks came just after CBI, acting in concert with the government, told the Interpol to take Quattrocchi off its "wanted" list, and confirmed the CBI's statement that it was still looking for ways to bring the Bofors fugitive back, did not mean anything.

Both BJP and CPM attacked Singh for his statement. Sudheendra Kulkarni, senior BJP functionary, said that the PM's statement was outrageous. Coming after government's role in the de-freezing of Quattrocchi's bank account and CBI's communication to the Interpol that it was no longer interested in the fugitive Bofors accused completed the "government-assisted acquittal of the fugitive without trial and an endorsement of his charge that judiciary in India was not fair".
CPM's Brinda Karat also attacked the Prime Minister. "It is shameful for the Prime Minister to defend the indefensible," said the member of the CPM politburo.

The CBI is administratively under the department of personnel and training which is under the PM's charge at present. Though CBI is supposedly an autonomous organisation, its U-turns in the Bofors case are not devoid of government backing or even prodding. In the case of the CBI clean chit to former minister Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases, PMO had put out that Singh had not been in the know.

While law enforcement agencies can sometime fail to nab an accused due to lack of evidence, witnessess or procedural wrangles, the PM's view that the Italian was being in fact "harassed" flies against CBI's painstaking investigations that tracked the Bofors money trail. A part of the money was tracked to Quattrocchi's London accounts which were defrozen in 2006.

Better Late Than Never !!! Jaya Rocks !!!

In a dramatic shift in her stand on the Sri Lanka issue, the AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa on Saturday said her party would strive for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam as that alone would provide a lasting solution to the three decade-long ethnic crisis.

“It is now clear that the Sri Lankan government’s sole agenda is to wipe out the Tamil race from the island. They have no intention of giving them equal rights,” Jayalalithaa said at an election rally in Erode in western Tamil Nadu. She said that she had come to these conclusions after watching the video footage shown to her by Sri Sri Ravishankar, who had toured parts of war-torn Lanka and called on her recently on his return.

Blaming the UPA government at Centre and DMK government in state for the ‘genocide’ of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Jayalalithaa said talking anymore about finding a solution within the framework of the constitution of Sri Lanka and through devolution of powers would be a waste of time.

A virulent critic of the LTTE, Jayalalithaa had kicked off her campaign in Tirunelveli ten days ago with a pro-Eelam rhetoric and is trying to firm up her ground, on a belief that the issue had became a poll plank much to the discomfiture of the Congress-DMK combine. In fact in its election manifesto, the AIADMK had stated that “Tamils should be accorded equal status with that of the Sinhala majority, with devolution of administrative power in the Tamil-dominated provinces of Sri Lanka. If these moves fail, then the AIADMK will press for a separate State of Eelam to ensure that Tamils in the Island live a life of dignity.”

The AIADMK supremo cited Sri Sri Ravishankar’s recent visit to Vavuniya and Mullaitivu in northern Sri Lanka for the change in her stance. “Guruji met me at Chennai on Thursday and showed me the video footage. I was shocked to see them and came to know hitherto unknown facts. Through the footage I came to know that Tamils in army-controlled areas were being treated like prisoners and slaves,” she said.

Jayalalithaa vehemently dismissed the argument of Sri Lanka that they were trying to protect Tamils.

“In fact, the Sri Lankan Army is forcing Tamils to flee from their native land. They were lodged in camps and neither allowed to go out nor were visitors allowed to see them. It reminds one of the Concentration Camps run by Hitler to torture the Jews,” she said. The Sri Lankan government has no intention of providing them a normal life.”

Election Commission-The culprit behind Poor Voting %

EC - Election Commission of India is the main culprit behind the poor voters turnout. Election Commission is planning the things theoritically and NOT practically.

Why Election in the month of April-May?

Conducting Polls during April-May will definitly dampen the polling percentage. The simple reason is during holiday period people will usually visit their native place or friends/relative houses. If we take Chennai, considerable amount of people will go to their native during these holiday period. Likewise, rest of Tamiladu people will come to Chennai for vacation.

If we conduct polls during this period, we cannot expect the people to go back to their place where they have their name enrolled in the electoral list. Election Commission should seriously think of moving the election out of April-May window period. By this way we can surely see rise in the voting percentage.

What is the purpose of Election ID card ?

Election commission claims that they have provided Election ID cards to more than 98 % people. Then what is stoping them from centralizing the voting process. In the modern world, we cannot expect everyone to be available at their place during polling day. People will on the move all the times.

We have Election ID card in place, Election commission should come up with the Technology and process to vote from anywhere in India. This will also greatly increase the voter percentage.