Dee Dat

Journalist @ANI TN

[ANI @ANI]

#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | AIADMK National Spokesperson Kovai Sathyan says, "The delimitation bill tabled today in Tamil Nadu has raised eyebrows... This shows how desperate they are for publicity... The rights of Tamil Nadu will not be compromised at the behest of the DMK. You can't bring in a half-baked bill with zero data..."

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#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan says, “…We cannot stop delimitation because it is as per law. But we can peg the number to the existing level. That is what had happened last time… Tamil Nadu had 41 seats. Because of delimitation, we had lost two seats, and the number had come down to 39 seats as we had sincerely followed the Government of India's family planning program. We do not want to lose the numbers; that is our worry, and it is better to have delimitation within the permissible number…”

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#WATCH | Chennai: Tamil Nadu Health Minister Arunraj says, "...As our CM stated in the resolution, Tamil Thai Vazhthu is not just a song; it represents the aspirations and our feelings and emotions of Tamil people. Tamil language is the root of our Tamil culture. So Tamil people, not only in Tamil Nadu, but world over, have this great respect, and they feel that in Tamil Nadu, for any government official functions, Tamil Thai Vazhthu should be sung first, and towards that only we have passed this resolution. Hope the Union Government heeds the genuine aspirations of the people."

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#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Rain lashes in some parts of the city.

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#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Congress MP Vishnu Prasad says, "It is very disappointing that several times, a party like DMK, around six times, and a party like ADMK, which ruled the state of Tamil Nadu, is not bothered about the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu. If the delimitation comes into force, if the bill is passed, then definitely our voice, our representation in the Parliament will be reduced... Rahul Gandhi, as well as the CM, told very clearly that this delimitation bill should not be entertained and it should be objected to in the first place. But unfortunately, today DMK and AIADMK are absent, and other alliance partners like PMK and DMDK are absent. Their priorities may be different. They are not bothered about the people of Tamil Nadu..."

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#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu: G K Vasan, Tamil Maanila Congress President, says, "The delimitation issue is a very important issue regarding the representative growth of Tamil Nadu from the village level to the town level. More representatives, according to proper guidelines, will serve the constituencies and definitely acknowledge the growth of the constituencies in various fields. The Central Government should give a correct path and proper guidelines for this, and each and every state should be 100% benefited according to the proper ratio and guidelines given, which are acceptable to everybody. I am sure Tamil Nadu should get the best number possible for its growth. For that, all parties should be together. It is very unfortunate that the DMK, AIADMK and certain parties are not participating in the all-party meeting convened by the government regarding delimitation. Delimitation is also one of the most important subjects for the state. I am not comparing delimitation with the Cauvery or Mekedatu issue. Mekedatu and Cauvery may be the need of the hour. Delimitation can take some time as well. But still, the Central Government talks about delimitation, and when there is news on television that there can be a special session for delimitation, that is also the need of the hour today, which has to be discussed by the government, which is in the responsible position. I am sure a responsible opposition means they should sit down in the all-party meeting and talk in a very concrete way and decide on things which are favourable to our state, for which everybody should be together. If they are not together, it is very unfortunate. There should be no politics in delimitation..."

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#WATCH | Chennai: VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan says, "Only one resolution was passed in this meeting, that is no fair delimitation or no other option. The Union government should freeze the number 543, and we have passed a resolution that the numbers in the state should also be sustained."

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#WATCH | Chennai: Congress MP Jyothimani says, "...Chief Minister Joseph Vijay has convened the first-ever meeting on delimitation. It's very important. We have deeply discussed all the issues concerning the delimitation, like how it will be destructive to Tamil Nadu as well as to India. This should be stopped at any cost. That's the commitment we are all having today... Hope that a better sense prevails across all political parties... Hope they (DMK and AIADMK) will understand the gravity of the situation, and they will also come along with all of us..."

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Chennai, Tamil Nadu | DMK MP Kanimozhi says, "32 MPs did not participate in the meeting and there is no clarity yet on the outcome of today’s meeting convened by the Chief Minister on delimitation. This MPs meeting has been convened with the intention of diverting attention from the Mekedatu dam issue in Tamil Nadu. We are not completely against delimitation. We are asking for a fair delimitation. During the election, DMK President and that time CM MK Stalin had made it clear that protecting Tamil Nadu was more important than electoral victory. More than winning the election, we need to protect the rights of Tamil Nadu. That is our aim and our leader’s aim. TN Government Chief Secretary is functioning like a secretary of the TVK headquarters and is directly calling MPs and sending letter to attend the meeting, the opposition has alleged."

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#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Congress MP Praveen Chakraborty says, "It was very disappointing that the party that governed the state for 6 terms and the party that governed the state for 5 terms did not participate in a meeting called by the chief minister to defend the rights and freedom of the people of Tamil Nadu. Our demand is very clear: we do not want any change either in the total number of seats or in the share of Tamil Nadu's seats. We do not want any change. So, there is nothing called fair delimitation. The only delimitation is no delimitation..."

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#WATCH | Chennai | MDMK Principal Secretary and MP, Durai Vaiko, arrives for the all-party meeting called by Tamil Nadu CM Joseph Vijay to discuss delimitation.

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#WATCH | Chennai | On Congress leaders targeting DMK over boycotting Tamil Nadu CM meeting on delimitation, DMK MP Kanimozhi says, "Unfortunately, I think the Congress has forgotten the history of DMK and Congress in Tamil Nadu. We have stood against the Congress also on many occasions over the past many decades. Every time they try to become a threat to democracy, to our language, to our identity, it has been the DMK that fought against it. We know who has let down the Tamil people, and we know that DMK has always stood with the people of Tamil Nadu, and we will continue fighting. We don't need anybody else to tell us who we are."

She adds, "We had passed a resolution in the Assembly, and we had invited Chief Ministers from five different states to participate in the meeting... two Congress representatives were also there at the meeting and accepted the resolution passed... The entire meeting was about fair delimitation, and that is the stand of DMK then; that is the stand of DMK now. We have not changed."

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#WATCH | Chennai: MDMK Principal Secretary and MP Durai Vaiko says, "It is very unfortunate that the opposition parties like DMK and AIADMK have boycotted this very important meeting... because this delimitation amendment bill, if passed, would greatly affect the interests of Tamil Nadu. Even with 39 MPs, we are not able to get our due share with regard to finance... If this delimitation bill is passed, then all the southern states, like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka, stand to lose because it is based on population... Do you think the delimitation commission will function in the interest of Tamil Nadu?... This 50% proportionate increase is a sort of a gimmick by the BJP government... Even if they give this 50%, it will be reversed, as per the Constitution... the delimitation commission is going to take all the important decisions regarding this..."

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#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | Several Christian Bishops and Minority organisation officials met DMK President MK Stalin at his residence in Chennai Tenampet today and discussed on FCRA Amendment Bill.

(Source: DMK)

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#WATCH | Chennai | AIADMK National Spokesperson Kovai Sathyan says, "It's a curse for Tamil Nadu, because people (TVK leaders) with zero experience in governance are running the government like headless chickens... The priority now is water. Farmers are starving without water, and there are 12 districts that are dependent on the Cauvery River. Rather than addressing that issue, Joseph Vijay is taking up the issue of delimitation. It clearly indicates the misplaced priorities of this government. There is no difference between this government and the DMK... They only believe in reels, advertisements, and renaming and rebranding the successful schemes of AIADMK."

He adds, "As far as this delimitation is concerned, it's pretty much clear that 59 seats will be the number for Tamil Nadu with respect to the 850 MPs that will turn out to be X percent. Our demand is very clear with respect to this delimitation. The proportionate representation of Tamil Nadu stands at 7.16% with the present number of MPs. Whatever number it may increase, it should not change. And our Home Minister, Amit Shah, has assured that it will not change. Since our stand is pretty clear, I really don't understand who has advised Joseph Vijay to call up our MPs directly and invite them rather than addressing it to the party leader, rather than respecting the organizational hierarchy... It clearly shows how immature and incompetent TVK is..."

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#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu: On the DMK boycotting CM Vijay's all-party meeting on delimitation, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan says, "They should have written to the leaders of all political parties and asked their MPs to attend the meeting. What did this government do? They wrote individually to all MPs without the knowledge of the leaders. And what is the agenda of the meeting? Whether to oppose delimitation or support delimitation should be the agenda. Just delimitation is not the agenda. What is the purpose of calling MPs individually without the knowledge of the leaders. The very way they called the meeting itself is absolutely wrong. They should have written a letter to the leaders, the presidents of all political parties, and asked them to send their MPs to the meeting. They didn't do anything. Now they say that we are in favour of delimitation. But a party which has no MP of its own, which doesn't know where Parliament is, speaks ill of us. During the last Parliament session, we opposed this delimitation. Our MPs opposed the delimitation, and the introduction of the Bill was defeated. And they talk about us. What funny people they are..."

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#WATCH | Chennai: On AIADMK boycotting CM Vijay's all-party meeting on delimitation, AIADMK National Spokesperson Kovai Sathyan says, "The actions of TVK reflect political immaturity and theatrics, nothing else. There is an organisational structure, and we have a General Secretary in place. Whatever happens, it happens through him. Whatever decisions are made, be they political or welfare-related, are taken through him. Reaching out directly to the MPs is not the norm. Would TVK agree if any other party or any other person reached out to their office-bearers directly without the high command's approval? This is political immaturity and misplaced priorities. The priority of Tamil Nadu today is Mekedatu, and that is of the highest order. We have to understand that the standard of AIADMK was made clear long back. The proportion of representation of 7.16%, 39 MPs out of 543, should not change with an increase in the number of MPs. DMK's double standard stands exposed today. It was MK Stalin who tore open the delimitation draft and created such a huge ruckus and drama, and Tiruchi Siva, their MP today, says that we have to wait and watch the developments. This clearly shows that there is a U-turn from the DMK side and also exposes the DMK's double standards. So, AIADMK has not changed its stand. Let the representation not change. Moreover, TVK doesn't have the numbers to represent anything in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. Representation is zero. All you can do is send a representation to the Assembly, which they have not done so..."

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#WATCH | Chennai | Tamil Nadu LoP and DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin reached his residence in Teynampet where he was welcomed by his father, party President MK Stalin

(Source: DMK)

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Chennai | Indian weightlifter Raja Muthupandi says, "I dedicate this silver medal to his parents and the people of Tamil Nadu... The Malaysian lifter, who won the gold medal in his category, was a strong competitor... Union Sports Minister had hosted the Indian medal winners for a dinner in New Delhi and announced a cash reward of Rs 20 lakh for my silver medal... I am happy that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay announced a cash incentive of Rs 30 lakh the day after I secured the medal... I appeal to the Tamil Nadu government to establish weightlifting training centres in all districts to help nurture young talent and strengthen the sport across the state..." (04.08)

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#WATCH | Chennai | AIADMK MLA Edappadi K. Palaniswami arrives at the Legislative Assembly for the Budget session, which starts today. TVK government will present its first Budget today.