Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin who is also a state minister, has sent a legal notice to Tamil Nadu BJP Chief K. Annamalai.
The legal notice was sent following the allegations by Annamalai as part of ”DMK Files” released by him. Udhayanidhi Stalin has demanded unconditional, public apology and also sought damages to the tune of ₹50 crore.
The notice dated April 19, was served through DMK MP P. Wilson’s firm. It stated that he is currently serving as Secretary of DMK Youth Wing and also has been elected as a Member of Legislative Assembly, Chepauk Assembly Constituency in 2021 and presently serving as Minister for Youth Welfare, Sports Development, Special Programme Implementation Department and Poverty Alleviation Programme and Rural Indebtedness, Government of Tamilnadu.
Referring to the allegations made by Annamalai, the Legal notice said that he should offer unconditional public apology for the allegations made on April 14, regarding DMK FILES and also stated that Annamalai should remove the offending video of the press conference in which he made the allegations from his Facebook account as well as from his website (https://enmannenmakkal. com).
The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department has erected a model Srivilliputhur Temple Gopuram on the grave of former DMK patriarch Karunanidhi which has drawn criticism from the Hindus.
The mausoleum of the late former Chief Minister Karunanidhi is located at Marina Beach in Chennai. DMK leaders and cadres who pose as rationalists have done things in front of Karunanidhi’s tombstone that are against rationalism.
It’s worth noting that a few years ago, DMK leaders including EV Velu were performing Bhajan in front of Karunanidhi’s tombstone. DMK cadres also presented ‘Thayir Vada (Curd vada),’ which drew criticism from the public, who questioned the party’s hypocrisy in preaching rationalism to others.
Even before presenting the Tamil Nadu budget, DMK leaders were seen receiving blessings from Karunanidhi’s grave, which is considered taboo to rationalist principles.
In one such attempt, on account of a discussion of the ‘Demand for Grants’ in the Tamil Nadu assembly on the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department, the DMK has decorated the tombstone of former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Karunanidhi with a model Srivilliputhur Gopuram.
The DMK’s decoration of Karunanidhi’s tombstone with a temple Gopuram, which is considered auspicious in the Hindu religion, drew criticism from the general public and Hindu devotees.
அறநிலையத்துறை மானிய கோரிக்கைக்காக முன்னாள் முதல்வர் அமரர் கருணாநிதி சமாதியில் கோவில் கோபுரத்தை வைப்பது கண்டிக்கத்தக்க செயல்.
அறநிலையத்துறை அமைச்சர் திரு.சேகர்பாபு அவர்களுக்கு கருணாநிதி சமாதி கோவிலாக தெரியலாம், ஆனால் இந்துக்கள் வணங்கும் கோவில் கோபுரம் சமாதியில் இருக்க கூடாது! pic.twitter.com/5NIEdrWvQ2
The DMK Government in Tamil Nadu headed by Chief Minister MK Stalin is to table a resolution in the Legislative Assembly today urging the Central Government to bring amendments in the laws to give reservation to the Adi Dravidianswho have converted to Christianity.
As per Census 2011, there are 1.44 crore of Adi Dravidar constituting 20.01% of the total population of Tamil Nadu (7.21 crore).
According to reports, the Assembly would urge the Centre to extend the legal protection, rights, and reservations provided to the Scheduled Castes in the Constitution of India to the Adi Dravida commumity who have converted to Christianity.
In 1950, the Nehru government passed an order restricting the definition of “scheduled caste” only to members of the Hindu faith. However, it was later extended to Sikhs in 1956 and to Buddhists in 1990 because they are seen as an extension of the Sanatana Dharma.
Para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order clearly states that no person who professes a religion different from Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste.
The Supreme Court in a 2015 ruling had said, “Once a person ceases to be a Hindu and becomes a Christian, the social and economic disabilities arising because of Hindu religion cease and hence it is no longer necessary to give him protection and for this reason he is deemed not to belong to a scheduled caste.”
Ravishankar Prasad when he was Union Law Minister said in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha said that as per the Constitution of India and Indian statute, Hindu persons eligible for reservation benefits, like those belonging to Scheduled Castes, cannot avail the same benefits if they convert to Christianity or Islam.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
On April 17th, K. Surendran, the BJP State president, criticized the LDF government’s handling of terrorist activities, blaming their “soft” approach for the train arson incident at Elathur. He demanded that the Home department controlled by the Chief Minister provide a clear answer as to who aided the accused in committing the crime.
Surendran further alleged that the police failed to take sufficient action against those who helped the accused and accused the government of compromising with radical elements in the state for the sake of votes. He demanded an investigation into whether the police’s failure allowed the accused to escape and for the case to be given to the NIA for further investigation.
Recently, following the police’s confirmation of a terror angle, the Kochi unit of the NIA took over the investigation into the Kozhikode train arson case. The incident took place on April 2, 2023, when a man set fire to coach number D1 of the Alappuzha-Kannur Express near Elathur railway station in Kozhikode district. There was a visible delay in the whole procedure by the ruling government. The slow response of the state government and its police department in dealing with the issue raises questions about state government’s commitment to national security. Despite the grave nature of the situation, the ruling communist government downplayed the incident initially raising eyebrows regarding the ruling dispensation’s intent.
Communist Government’s Lax Attitude
Ruling communist dispensation’s lax attitude while dealing with issues of Islamic terrorism is well documented. Previously back in December 2022, BJP’s Kerala Vice President KS Radhakrishnan has hit out at the ruling LDF-led government as well as the previous UDF regime in the state for promoting terrorism by failing to act against the Popular Front of India (PFI), which has been proscribed by the Centre.
“There’s an unfortunate situation in Kerala, both the LDF and the UDF governments keep unanimity in promoting terrorism. Economically, socially, and religiously powerful groups are promoting terrorism. The Kerala Police doing nothing against the PFI, they are providing them help,” the BJP leader said. He further stated that. “A strong group is promoting terror activities in Kerala and getting financial assistance from abroad “Instead of curbing them, the Kerala government is providing facilities for the terror group,” Radhakrishnan stated. According to Radhakrishnan, “Jamaat-e-Islami publicly admitted that they got money to establish groups of media in Kerala with the help of Islamic funding.” He claimed that these parties remain unchallenged in Kerala, giving a context to their actions. “PFI has been assisted by popular members of the LDF and the UDF,” Radhakrishnan told ANI.
He further claimed that Islamic organisations were funding significant political parties such as the UDF and the LDF. He claimed that the government was not acting against PFI despite the court orders. “Either the government of Kerala is afraid of the Islamic groups or they have been sufficiently compensated by the Islamic terror groups,” the BJP leader added. He demanded a clarification from the Chief Minister of Kerala in this regard. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday submitted in the Special NIA Court at Kochi that the banned PFI leaders in Kerala were in touch with some of the Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda leaders. NIA also submitted that there is a secret wing of PFI working to prepare a hit list of people belonging to other communities and their activities were centred around the PFI office.
It was also revealed that the accused Shahrukh Saifi was a highly radicalized man and had watched Zakir Naik videos. He had also done a recee on the premises of the railway station until boarding the train.
Is There Merit In The BJP’s Accusations?
On 19 December, the Kerala High Court of Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar asked the state government the reason for the delay in attaching the properties of the terrorist organization PFI (Popular Front of India). Earlier, the court had ordered the state government to recover Rs 5.20 crore from the office-bearers of the now-banned PFI and its State General Secretary, Abdul Sathar. PFI terrorists had caused widespread damage and violence after calling for a flash hartal on 23 September.
The callous attitude of the state government came on top of several incidents of violence, including stone pelting reported throughout Kerala in response to a strike called by Popular Front of India (PFI) halting life in the state on 23rd September. It had resulted in the arrest of as many as 500 people in the state along with preventive detention of another 400.
Reports of hurling of bombs, breaking of public life and chanting of anti-national slogans filled the airwaves throughout the nation on that day of violence. The state government’s slow reaction had raised many eyebrows and questioned their credibility in responding to instances of national security importance which necessitated urgent action. This puts into open why the state government adopted a slow reaction in stark contrast to the whirlwind approach adopted by the central agencies such as NIA and ED?
The Politics Of ‘Soft Touch’
The politics of ‘soft touch’ approach adopted by CPI(M) can be traced back in time There have been allegations and reports of ties between the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM and radical Islamists in Kerala. One such instance was the 2006 Kalamassery bus burning case, where a group of radical Islamist activists belonging to the National Development Front (NDF) burned a bus in Kalamassery as part of a protest a visit by then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
It was alleged that some of the activists involved in the incident were CPM members, and that the party had supported their actions. instance was the controversial visit of PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madani, an accused in the 2008 Bangalore blasts case, to the CPM headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram in 2014. The visit sparked protests alleging that the CPM was cosying up to terrorists. Another instance was the 2012 T.P. Chandrasekharan murder case, where a former CPM leader was killed by a group of assailants allegedly hired by the party.
According to reports, some of the assailants had links to radical Islamist groups such as the Popular Front of India (PFI). In 2018, a senior leader of the CPM, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, was accused of shielding a CPM member who was allegedly involved in the murder of an RSS worker in Kannur. The RSS worker’s family had alleged that Balakrishnan’s son Binoy was also involved in the murder, and that Balakrishnan had used his political influence to protect him. However, Balakrishnan denied the allegations and said that the CPM had no links with extremist elements.
In 2020, it was alleged that the CPM was providing shelter to two women who were arrested by the NIA for their alleged involvement in the ISIS Khorasan module. The women had reportedly been expelled from the PFI, and the CPM was accused of helping them evade arrest. However, the CPM denied the allegations and said that they had no links with any extremist groups. In another instance, the NIA had reportedly found that a CPM leader’s son-in-law had close links with the PFI. The leader, P Jayarajan, had allegedly given a job to his son-in-law in a government-owned company, despite the latter being on the run from the police in a PFI-related case. Jayarajan had denied the allegations and said that his son-in-law had no links with any extremist groups. These allegations have led to criticism of the CPM’s alleged ties with extremist elements and their failure to act against them.
Back in 2018, when news came that Kerala had asked for a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and then Director General of Police Loknath Behera were quick to deny the report. “It is not the Kerala government’s policy to ban any communal or terrorist outfit. If any outfit that creates riots in India and divides society on communal lines needs to be banned, then it should be the RSS first. Such organisations cannot be countered with a ban and this has been proved by our experience in the past.”, he said.
The CM’s statement did not come as a surprise for political critics in the state, since the CPI (M)’s lenient attitude towards the PFI and its political outfit, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has been an open secret. CPI (M) has even been accused of closing its eyes or even quietly supporting the radical activities of the PFI and its allied outfits for many years. However, things took a dramatic turn after the murder of Abhimanyu, leader of the CPI (M) students’ wing Students Federation of India (SFI). The prime accused, who is the president of the Campus Front of India (CFI), a student wing of PFI, at Maharaja’s College, was arrested. In a massive crackdown, nearly 600 SDPI activists have been taken into custody and questioned about Abhimanyu’s murder – a visible gesture of the CPI (M)’s changed stand that it will not tolerate the PFI anymore as one of its trusted comrades. But certain realities still dawn on the party and it is evident that the party still adopts soft touch approach against the radicalists. This reality is clear from party’s renewed attempt to bring IUML in to its fold.
Kerala: Islamist’s Own Country
Kerala is a state which is cursed by radical Islamic tendencies. For example, as per a recent investigation, since 2009 – nearly 32,000 girls from Kerala and Mangalore from Hindu and Christian communities have been converted to Islam and most of them end up landing in Syria, Afghanistan, and other ISIS and Haqqani influential areas. Plenty of Kerala men and women are said to have joined the ISKP (Islamic State of Khorasan Province) in recent years. The United Nations warned in its 2020 terrorism report that there are a substantial number of ISIS terrorists in the Indian state of Kerala. The threat of radicalism and terrorism are few among major challenges faced by the world today and it poses substantial risk to stability and harmony of our society. Terrorism certainly poses major challenges in our society too. Former PM of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee once stated that, ‘Terrorism has become a festering wound. It is an enemy of humanity.’ And it is high time the Kerala government start taking the issue seriously without being swayed by vote bank or appeasement and start taking stern actions against fringe elements on ground for the sake of India’s national security.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
On 14 April 2023, Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai revealed the details of ₹1.34 lakh crores in property amassed by the DMK leaders. As part of the first list, Annamalai released the property details of first 12 DMK leaders.
The next day, he posted on his social media that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin‘s son and minister Udhayanidhi Stalin was a director in Nobel Promotors Private Limited in 2009 along with one Bazeer Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim (in some records it is written as Mohamed Ebrahim Basheer Mohamed).
In another company named Noble Bricks Private Limited, DMK Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi was Director in 2016 along with the same Bazeer Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim.
திமுக அமைச்சர் திரு @Anbil_Mahesh நோபல் நிறுவனத்தில் 2016ஆம் ஆண்டு இயக்குனராக இருந்திருக்கிறார்.
துபாய் சென்ற தமிழக முதல்வர் திரு @mkstalin, நோபல் ஸ்டீல்ஸ் நிறுவனத்திடம் 1000 கோடி ரூபாய் தமிழகத்தில் முதலீடு செய்வதற்கான புரிந்துணர்வு ஒப்பந்தம் செய்துள்ளார். (2/3)
Incidentally, when CM MK Stalin went to Dubai, he signed an MoU with Noble Steels, to invest ₹1000 crore in Tamil Nadu.
“On behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu, I am asking this question – Whose money is it which Noble Group, a firm with links to the DMK, has promised to invest in Tamil Nadu?”, Annamalai asked.
While the DMK’s Organizing Secretary RS Bharathi denied that the Tamil Nadu Government signed a deal with Noble Steels, the official investment promotion agency of Tamil Nadu Government itself had shared pictures of MK Stalin signing the deal.
An article published in The Hindu dated on 29 March 2022, confirms that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin signed a ₹1000 crore worth MoU with Noble Steels based in UAE.
Now more information has come to light exposing the close links between the DMK and the Noble Group with which the Tamil Nadu Government has signed MoU.
The Noble Group – DMK Nexus
When searched for Noble Promotors Private Limited, there are 2 names which pop up – Bazeer Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim and Ramesh Radhakrishnan. Both of them are directors in almost the same set of companies and are associated with Napraaj Commercial Private Limited (Remember the name of this company, more details about this company ahead).
According to information available on public domain, Bazeer Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim is an Indian staying in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. He is a director in around dozen companies including Noble Promotors Private Limited, Noble Ferrous And Power Limited, Noble Bricks Private Limited, Noble Holding Private Limited, Naapraaj Commercial Private Limited, etc.
Here is a list of entities associated with Bazeer Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim.
Most of the entities have the same address in Chennai.
Here’s a tree diagram that shows how the different entities are linked.
As we can see from the above tree diagram, DMK Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi is a director in Noble Bricks Private Limited along with Bazeer Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim.
Ramesh Radhakrishnan, the other director in Noble Promotors Private Limited is also linked with most of the above companies.
Another name that we see is Mohamed Ashraf Shahul Ameed. He is apprently an Indian staying in Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu. Mohamed Ashraf Shahul Ameed along with Bazeer Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim sit as directors of Noble Ferrous and Power Limited.
However, in the Tamil Nadu Government’s press release number 475 dated 26 March 2022, Mohamed Ashraf Shahul Ameed is identified as a Dubai-based business and as the head of Noble Steel Company.
So, how did a Tamil Nadu based businessesman came to be identified Dubai-based? Is Noble Steels an Indian company or a UAE company?
The DMK government has to provide clarity on these two questions. But upon digging, it was found that there are multiple Noble Steels in both India and UAE, linked to the same set of people.
Who Is The Real Noble?
From the tree diagram we see that, there is company named Noble Steel Industries Private Limited in which one of the directors is Ramesh Radhakrishnan. For convenience sake, let’s mark this as NS1.
According to information available on public domain, in 2007, the Noble Group acquired a steel company named VKG Steel & Energy Limited and rechristened it to Noble Tech Industries Private Limited (NTIPL). This steel factory is located in Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu. Let’s mark this as NS2.
When we go to the the website of Noble Steels, it gives information of NTIPL.
Information available on CARE Ratings note that NTIPL is today part of UAE-based Noble Group promoted by Shahul Hameed who is identified as an Abu Dhabi-based businessman with more than three decade experience in steel business in the countries of Middle East, USA and East Asian countries.
It is not clear if this “Shahul Hameed” is the same Mohamed Ashraf Shahul Ameed. But there is a hint that pointing towards that – Napraaj Commercials Private Limited.
As seen above, Shahul Hameed’s wife Ammena Begum owns 81% of the stake in the company while the remaining is held by Napraaj Commercial Private Limited. So, in all probability, Shahul Ameed is also an Indian guy.
Napraaj Commercial Private Limited is an entity in which Bazeer Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim is a director, the same guy who served as a director with:
– Mohamed Ashraf Shahul Ameed in Noble Ferrous and Power Limited
– DMK Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin in Noble Promotors Private Limited
– DMK Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi in Noble Bricks Private Limited respectively.
The email ID given in contact details of Napraaj Commercial Private Limited has a domain registered as noblesteels.co.in.
Napraaj Commercial Private Limited is located in the same address as that of few other entities involving the same set of persons.
It is this Napraaj Commercial Private Limited, an Indian company that holds stake in NTIPL (or NS2).
There is also a Noble Steel Industries LLC based out of Abu Dhabi. Let’s mark this as NS3. Another company named Ajmal Steel Tubes & Pipes LLC is located in the same address as NS3.
Ajmal Steel Tubes and Pipes Industries L.L.C is identifies itself as a UAE based company and Shahul Ameed (MS Ameed) has been named as the Managing Director. The same Pudukottai based businessman.
Interestingly, there is another Ajmal Steels in India named Ajmal Steel Industries Private Limited which has the same address of Noble Holdings Private Limited, Napraaj Commercial Private Limited, and other entities related to Mohamed Ashraf Shahul Ameed and Bazeer Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim.
One of the director of Ajmal Steel Industries Private Limited is Mohamed Faizeen Liyakathali. We have seen this name in the tree diagram as well (Please go above and zoom into the tree diagram).
Mohamed Faizeen Liyakathali is also a director in Noble Holdings Private Limited in which Bazeer Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim is also a director.
What is to be noted is that all three companies – Ajmal Steel Tubes & Pipes Industries LLC, Noble Marine Metals Co WLL, and Noble Steels Industries LLC – lead to the same site and address (ajsteel.com).
There is one name which gives away that these entities in UAE and India are part of the same nexus – Nasreen Banu Shahul Ameed.
Nasreen Banu Shahul Ameed has been named as the director of Noble Information Technology LLC based in Abu Dhabi.
However, she is also the director of Halima Promoters Private Limited and Kissui Noble Steel Industries Private Limited both of which have the same address as other Noble entities.
One of the directors of Kissui Noble Steel Industries is Jamaludeen who is also a director in Noble Holdings Private Limited. Jamaludeen is also a director in several other companies like Ariyalur Minerals Private Limited, Ariyalur Carbonates Private Limited and so on.
Bazeer Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim, Ramesh Radhakrishnan, Mohamed Ashraf Shahul Ameed, Jamaludeen, Nasreen Banu Shahul Ameed, Mohamed Faizeen Liyakathali are linked through an intricate web of companies many of which have the same address.
Here’s the best part – None of the above companies or individuals discussed above are related to the original Noble International Group which according to its website is a UAE-based conglomerate having ventures in insurance, shipping, trading and construction.
Questions People Must Ask The DMK
1. Who are the following people – Bazeer Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim, Ramesh Radhakrishnan, Mohamed Ashraf Shahul Ameed, Jamaludeen, Nasreen Banu Shahul Ameed, Mohamed Faizeen Liyakathali? What is their relationship with the DMK?
2. How/Why did the Tamil Nadu Government identify Mohamed Ashraf Shahul Ameed, a Tamil Nadu based businessman as a Dubai-based businessman?
3. Why would Tamil Nadu based businessmen route investment from his UAE based group of companies?
4. Are the group of companies in India legitimate or shell companies?
5. Is Noble Steels, which the DMK government claims to have invested ₹1000 crore, an Indian company or a UAE company?
6. How come a company that is investing ₹1000 crore have no proper website with clear organizational structure and financial details? Is this investment for real or just namesake photo op?
7. Are the networks of LLCs in UAE which are linked to the Noble Group in Tamil Nadu trying to round trip the money back into India? If yes, whose money?
(This article haas been developed based on the Twitter thread of Sheikh Al Madrassi)
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
An Andhra Pradesh government order (GO) sanctioned ₹200 per month from the State funds, as an added financial allowance to each government appointed village (gram) Volunteer/Ward Volunteer to enable them to purchase one widely circulated Telugu newspaper, which would give them regular and timely information of the YSRCP Government schemes and current A.P and national news.
It was pointed out that the monthly subscription charge of the newspaper “Sakshi” was ₹176.50 per month while the monthly rate for “Eenadu” newspaper was ₹207.50 per month.
It was argued that the government had intentionally fixed the additional grant of ₹200 per month to suit the monthly subscription charges of “Sakshi”, Jagan Reddy’s own newspaper, in order to increase the circulation and popularity of the Sakshi daily and overthrow the well established, more reputable, more popular “Eenadu” paper as well as other private publishers.
The case filed by the Eenadu group of publications against Jagan Reddy’s clever, indirect State promotion of his own “Sakshi” newspaper, puts the spotlight on a scheme that Jagan launched after coming to power in the 2019 Andhra Pradesh state elections – the “grama/village” volunteer scheme.
He added yet another human bureaucratic layer to the already existing layers of government administration at the village/Ward level. He introduced a “volunteer” system called a Grama (village) Volunteer program, dubbing it to be a unique, people friendly network of volunteers, bringing government services to the doorsteps of citizens. The scheme termed “volunteer” is misleading as the posts are paid positions out of government funds and the “volunteers” engaged in such work, are paid a salary as well as allowances.
It has been alleged that the much publicized scheme was just another dubious ruse for employing and financially supporting the CM’s YSRCP party supporters and workers across the state with government funds.
It is estimated that the State Government would incur an additional expenditure of approximately ₹1,200 crore per annum on the scheme.
The Salary was announced to be ₹5000 and some perks amounting to a total monthly pay of between ₹6000 and ₹8000.00, including ₹200/month, for a subscription to a newspaper- Jagan’s own “Sakshi” newspaper is the only Telugu daily under a monthly subscription of ₹200, thus promoting his own newspaper with government funds, while trying to eliminate all private competition.
The Grama (Village) Volunteer project supposedly aims to provide some level of employment to young people in the state while trying to raise the standards of administrative efficiency at the grass root levels (village and ward levels). Eligibility criteria for applying to the state’s volunteer positions include people in the age group of 18 – 35 and a minimum qualification of SSC/10th class pass in remote/ tribal areas and Intermediate/12th class pass in all other areas, from a recognised school board. The volunteers would be locals in the particular village or ward.
It supposedly gives a chance to local residents of that area to serve the people and earn a living. Candidates were selected for more than 1.26 lakh vacancies for posts like Panchayat Secretary, VRO, MPEO, animal husbandry assistant, village fisheries, sericulture, horticulture, agriculture assistant, ANM, Electrical Assistant, Grameena Engineer, Welfare Assistant, Women Police Attendant, Digital assistant, etc.
The Jagan Reddy government has steered clear of providing clarity on important aspects of the state-funded, paid positions – no clarity on the duration of the created positions or the status of such job postings (temporary or permanent). On being questioned about efficacy and performance, it was announced that the Panchayat secretary at the village level and the MPDO (Mandal parishad development officer) at the sub-district level would analyze the performance of the volunteers for any given time frame.
People have questioned the real intent of the volunteer project as it became obvious that the selection process involved local leaders and ensured posts to Jagan’s YSRCP party supporters and workers. People have commented that the volunteer project was creating a parallel government of sorts in a multi-layer government structure, already in place besides adding an extra financial burden on the state. Problems surfaced fairly quickly after the system was put into place in a rushed manner, inspite of several questions and objections:
The problems that are evident with the system are numerous:
1) Adding another human layer to an already existing village, municipal/town and district government structure, ended up with more complaints of corruption and embezzlement, in a short period of time. The so called grama/village/local volunteers have become an added tier of middlemen in the local adminstration process, often demanding bribes for issue of caste, death certificates, stealing partial amounts of pension funds etc.
2) At a time when electronic, automated processes are being preferred for quick, convenient, transparent, direct aid to the needy, why does the A.P government insist on extra human involvement and interference?
In this day and age, when the Central government is pushing for direct asisstance to the beneficiaries without human contact (direct bank transfers etc) adding an additional human layer to the process becomes an excuse for unnecessary delays and bribes. Jagan’s volunteer-driven disbursal of aid including pension, rations Etc defeats the very purpose of going electronic/digital and keeping the system free of unnecessary human interference.
3) The goverment claims to be providing employment to large numbers of young people. The volunteer posts appear to be temporary in nature and are poorly paid positions with no scope for promotions or a career path. Educated people understand that long-term success and sustainability of a healthy job creation process in any state or country, lies in encouraging an atmosphere of job generation in the private sector rather than the government sector. This is the case in several states in India, including Andhra, where the government is already struggling to pay pensions and salaries of permanent, tenured government employees on time.
A far better, long-term, sustainable strategy would be to empower youth with vocational training, participation in the MSME sector, tourism and allied branches, other local services Etc, while simultaneously inviting and encouraging private enterprises to set up their offices and factories in the state to employ qualified youth.
4) In the already existing Panchayat system, the post of Panchayat Secretary, is responsible for all the adminstrative work that the recently added “volunteer” posts have been assigned. What is the need for work replication of a new job with almost exactly the same job description? It adds to the already existing confusion and corruption. If the Panchayat posts, VRO’s, MRO’s, Mandal Development Officers Etc are not functioning the way they should be, the government should take corrective measures in the existing system and Infrastructure, already in place. Why add another layer of people, bound to make the system more corrupt?
5) During a certain time frame of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, some people posted a few pics and publicized outreach work supposedly done by the volunteers. Many claimed it was an exaggeration. Even if this were true in a few wards and villages, it begs the question of redundancy and work duplication- what were the government trained and appointed ASHA workers (accredited social health activists) doing? After all, it’s the ASHA workers that are professionally trained to identify and address basic health issues amongst the rural and urban communities they live and work in. For what sensible purpose, did the A.P government choose to pay salaries to two people instead of one, for doing the exact same job?
6) The additional human layer in government, adds further confusion with accountability, non-performace, delayed performance and corruption in an existing system, already lacking accountability.
Existing government positions that are responsible for disbursement of funds and aid at the village, town, sub-district and district level, are rarely assessed for accountability of their job responsibilities. With another redundant layer of people (poorly paid “volunteers”) added to the system holding the same/ similar job responsibilities, who should be held accountable for bad work – the actual government position already in place or the newly brought in volunteer? Each would end up passing the blame to the other, making an already inefficient system, even worse. Who should the common man approach for grievance redressal and which of the two posts would the government hold accountable?
7) Many A.P residents suspect that the volunteer-driven network (mostly YSRCP party sympathizers), supposedly addressing people’s local administrative issues, providing services at the door step as well as taking payments for some services (payments for waste/garbage disposal) serves the purpose of two cleverly disguised ulterior motives of the YSRCP party – gather and store sensitive door-to-door voter information at the village/ ward level and collect additional funds for the party, from the payments made to the volunteers, for which no receipts are given.
There have been many instances where an assigned volunteer asks for and takes money from people in her/ his ward for a service like waste disposal but a receipt is not given in return, as proof of payment. There is no proof, either manual or digital, that a payment has been made to the volunteer. Citizens wonder where the unaccounted payments go; many speculate that the funds are back-channeled to the YSRCP party and its leaders.
8) Confusion between the information and guidance provided to the citizens by the volunteers and the information provided by the actual government officer, officially in-charge for a particular service – several people have complained of discrepancies in the information and guidance given by village/ ward volunteers and the information confirmed by a government officer at the Panchayat/ Ward office. A specific example is that of confusion around the timeline and process for payment of property taxes- information provided by the volunteer was different from the information given at the ward/ municipal office.
9) Citizens have commented on how the “volunteer” project appears to be making people, lazy in general with their unreasonable expectations of the government providing personalized, door-to-door delivery of goods, services, free resources including rations and other subsidized products.
Overall, there appears to be little to no benefit with the YSRCP’s volunteer program, as the assigned positions and work, are redundant to already existing government roles and responsibilities. In addition, the scheme suspected of political motivations and filled with a political party’s sympathizers, is a large and unnecessary financial burden on a state already burdened with a high debt.
It has added to the problems of ease, transparency, accountability and corruption by adding an additional human layer to the process of essential government services instead of encouraging and increasing a strong digital, electronic system, free from unnecessary human intervention. Why go back to a Manual process when E Services are the future?
It appears to be a politically motivated project benefitting a particular party, utilizing government funds and tax payer revenue – an undesirable precedent in any state.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
On Sunday (April 16th), approximately 23 Panchaloka statues, 50 Peetams, and 493 copper plate inscriptions with Thevaram Thirupathigams were discovered at Sirkazhi Shri Brahmapureeshwarar/Sattainadhar temple in the presence of SrilaSri Darumai Adheena Gurumanigal.
Sri Sattainathar Temple, in Sirkazhi, Nagapatinam district, is a 1,000-year-old temple with Somaskandar as Utchavar. Many saints, including Tirugnanasambandar, Manickavasagar, Arunagiriar, Gananathar, Nambiandar Nambigal, Pattinathar, Sekkizhar, Arunachala Kavi Rayar, Marimutha Pillai, and Muthu Thandava Dikshithar, have praised the Lord of the Temple. Saint Tirugnana Sambandar is said to have sung his first hymn to Lord after Mother Uma fed Him milk in the golden vessel while he was crying as a child on the steps of the temple’s tank. The milk contains the Saraswatha power that turned the child into an exceptional poet. Acharya Adi Sankara mentions this event in the 75th verse of Soundarya Lahari.
In the verse, Ganasambandar is referred to as Drivida Sishu. The child mentions Lord Shiva wearing the earring with sacred ashes all over His body and one who stole his heart in his first verse. He refers to the location as the prestigious Brahmmapuram. This is the 14th Shiva temple praised in Thevaram hymns on the northern bank of the Cauvery.
For the past one year, renovation work has been going on in the Sirkazhi Sattainathar temple in view of the consecration ceremony. In this case, on Sunday, 1000-year-old Chola copper plates, Panchaloga statues, and Peethams bearing Tamil Thevaram hymns of 7th-century poet GnanaSambandhar were discovered at a depth of about 2 feet when a hole was dug near the gate of the west tower inside the temple to build a Yaagasala (where rituals are performed).
It was initially thought that these were from the 13th century. They were later kept safe inside the temple. Based on the instructions of S. Thamaraipandian, project coordinator for the protection, maintenance, and documentation of temples and monasteries operating under the HR&CE department, a team of six people, including inspectors I. Shanmugam, K. Tamil Sandhya, Inscription specialist G. Viswanathan, and Inscription maintainer K. Prakashkumar, visited the site yesterday to study the unearthed artifacts.
They traveled from Chennai to Sirkazhi Sattainathar Temple to inspect the Copper plates. It has been revealed that these Copper inscriptions weigh 400 grams each and measure 68 cm long and 7.5 cm wide.
The team also looked for any manuscripts within the temple. During the search, 765 palm leaf manuscripts were discovered, which contained information about the temple’s lease and budgeting procedures.
These artifacts discovered at the Sirkhazhi temple are significant and have the potential to shed light on Chola period.
VCK MP Thirumavalavan said that Justice GR Swaminathan’s claim that Ambedkar wanted Sanskrit to be made the national language of India is immoral.
Justice GR Swaminathan addressing law students at a function commemorating BR Ambedkar’s 133rd birth anniversary at Raj Bhavan said that Dr. Ambedkar wanted Sanskrit to be India’s national language. Madurai bench of Madras High Court Judge G R Swaminathan said, “Ambedkar wanted Sanskrit as the national language. If we develop negative thoughts in our minds against Sanskrit or Hindi, it is not good for our life and career.”
Justice GR Swaminathan further said, “It is not good for our life and career to develop an anti-Sanskrit, and anti-Hindi attitude as linguistic obsession will lead us nowhere.”
Responding to Justice GR Swaminathan’s comments, VCK MP Thirumavalavan denied GR Swaminathan’s claim that Ambedkar wanted Sanskrit to be made the national language.
Thirumavalavan further said that Ambedkar never praised Sanskrit anywhere and that he questioned the literary richness in Sanskrit. He added that it is immoral to distort Ambedkar’s opinion on Sanskrit.
However, the history tells us otherwise. Babasaheb Ambedkar always spoke in support of making Sanskrit as our national language.
It is the Left, Liberals, and Dravidian Stockists who spread the false belief that Sanskrit is a language of Aryans and Brahmins that is destroying Tamil. Thirumavalavan has been trying hard to push this narrative amongst Dalits in Tamil Nadu.
For centuries, the British have implanted these thoughts in the minds of Dalits, and now anti-national Dravidian, Communist, Christian, and Islamic forces are constantly implanting these thoughts in the minds of Dalits.
But it’s not just the Brahmin community who are acquainted with Sanskrit knowledge. Consider the Valluvar community (one among Dalits), who are great and famous in astronomy, astrology, and other related fields. They have served as kaniyans (astrologers) for several kings. Astrology and astronomy cannot be pursued as a profession unless the Sanskrit language is mastered. This demonstrates that Dalits were also masters of Sanskrit.
It is a historical mystery how Sanskrit, which was the language of all people, eventually came to be construed as language of one particular community. Contemporary Dalits have studied Sanskrit as well. For example, K. Iyothee Thass Pandithar, his father were well-versed in Sanskrit. At the same time, there have been many accounts of people such as Dr. Ambedkar and Dr. MR Jayakar being chased away by the dominant caste who refused to teach them Sanskrit implying that Dalits have been interested in learning Sanskrit.
Dr. Ambedkar did not despise Sanskrit because of horrible past. After Dr. Ambedkar learnt a little bit of Sanskrit, partly by himself and also with the help of a few pandits, Ambedkar had high regards for the language. He said, “Sanskrit is the golden treasure of epics, the cradle of grammar , political philosophy and home of logic, dramas, and criticism”. This has been quoted in Dhananjay Keer’s biography of Ambedkar titled ‘Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission ‘.
Dr. Ambedkar that Sanskrit be designated as India’s national language. Ambedkar, who took part in the Constituent Assembly debate, stated unequivocally that Sanskrit should be declared India’s national language.
All leading dailies like National Herald, The Statesman, The Hindu and The Sunday Hindustan Standard, gave the details of the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly (in their issue dated September 11, 1949).
In this regard, when a PTI correspondent asked Ambedkar if he supported Sanskrit, he shot back saying, “What is wrong with Sanskrit?”
The news was widely published in the newspapers at the time. In an interview with The Sunday Hindustan Standard on September 11, 1949, Baba Saheb Ambedkar stated, “As Law Minister, I insisted in Parliament that Sanskrit be officially recognised as India’s official language.”
The book written by Prof. Satyabodh Hudlikar in Ambedkar Special Publication published by Navayugam on April 13, 1947, contains details of the instances when Babasaheb Ambedkar spoke in support of making Sanskrit the national language of India. It was also published in The Sunday Hindustan Standard on September 11, 1949 and The Hindu on 11th September, 1949.
During the All India Scheduled Classes Federation meeting, Dr. Ambedkar emphasised the same point. However, some members including BP Maurya objected to Ambedkar’s remarks on Sanskrit. This caused Dr. Ambedkar a great deal of grief. BP Maurya wrote a letter to NCERT a few years later. In the letter, he stated that he acted in this manner due to his ignorance and hatred of the Sanskrit language.
Dalits who follow Babasaheb Ambedkar continue to ignore the treasure of Sanskrit, either due to ignorance or the false propaganda spread by the Leftists and Dravidian Stockists.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
With people sweltering under the brazen heat of the summer season, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Commission (TNSTC) has decided to remove ACs from its buses.
And the rationale given for the move by the government is that the maintenance cost of ACs is ‘too costly’.
Last year, the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) another state-owned organization altered seven years old AC Buses to Non-AC services. Now TNSTC of Kumbakonam is also following their footsteps. TNSTC authorities said that they are forced to do this because passengers had started to complain about the inefficiency of ACs. The resulting poor ventilation caused great discomfort to the passengers due to shutting down of all doors and window.
When Sathapriyan Kamaraj, the Founder of TNSTC Enthusiasts, a group promoting public transport was asked about this issue, he was quoted saying in a report that given the government has not procured any new AC buses in the past two and half years, it is unfortunate that even the existing ones are being converted to non-A/C buses.
The TNSTC Officials also claimed that in the absence of Annual Maintenance Contract with the manufacturer, the engineers and mechanics at the depot are forced to use reserved funds to fix this issue. To avoid this, they made these A/C buses to Non-A/C ones, so that they could be plied on roads instead of abandoning them altogether.
Annamalai, the president of BJP in Tamil Nadu, released what he calls the DMK files on the auspicious day of Tamil New Year on April 14th, 2023.
He had already informed publicly that he was going to do this several months back when the DMK questioned his integrity by challenging him to produce the bill for the expensive Rafale watch that he was wearing.
Annamalai, being the follower of Narendra Modi, has learnt really well how to take every political opportunity given by his opponents and convert it to his full advantage.
Narendra Modi did exactly the same with the “chowkidar chor hai” comment and we all saw common public putting chowkidar as a prefix to their names on Twitter in support of PM Modi.
The public stood like a rock with Modi and the opposition was left red faced. Similarly, the DMK would be regretting their political blunder with the watch comment about Annamalai especially by a Minister who is himself does not enjoy a clean image. That one mistake is staring on the face of DMK today.
As promised, sharp at 10.15 am on 14 April 2023, Annamalai did a press conference and put a detailed video about how filthy rich some of the top brass of DMK is and how the wealth of some of them has even grown 10 times in a few years.
The assets add up to around ₹1.34 lakh crores according to him and this is just episode 1. The data diligently collected by Annamalai and his team has made Tamil makkal sit up. A stronge narrative against corruption is being put forth.
This is just the beginning. Annamalai has promised that the episode 2 of this series will be more astonishing. The episode 1 that was released covered most of the members of the first family of the DMK. Obviously, the DMK party will put up a brave face and say they were expecting something mind blowing but Annamalai dampened their expectations by just giving the details of the assets that the people in question hold which is an open secret.
However, if what I hear is true, they are consulting several lawyers already and are nervous that the Enforcement Directorate might give them a call soon. R. S. Bharathi had made a valiant attempt to appear fearless and has dared Annamalai to produce evidence of corruption or face legal proceedings soon. I think Annamalai is waiting for them to exactly do it – file a case against him which will in fact help him take this corruption battle formally in courts to the next level. For now, they have sent a ₹500 crore legal notice for the corruption allegations levelled against them. They had earlier slapped a legal notice on Annamalai for his allegations on BGR Energy which till date has only been gathering dust.
If DMK does not file a case against Annamalai by this month end, it will become evident that they have something to hide.
As expected, most of the media houses in Tamil Nadu were careful not to give much publicity to the DMK files as it will displease their masters. However, but Annamalai seems to be planning to keep this fire burning till the 2024 elections through his DMK files videos and through his people connect during his upcoming yatra across the nook and corner of the state scheduled to start on 4 June 2023.
Annamalai wouldn’t have done this without the blessings of Modi and Shah. I will again not be surprised if we see some of the DMK leaders in Delhi soon lining up to meet Narenda Modi. This will not help them as the plan has already been laid out for Tamilnadu running up to the 2024 elections. The fact that Annamalai has disclosed all his financial transactions openly to public for several years which no one in Indian politics has done before augurs for an inevitable shift in the politics of Tamil NNadu. He has raised the expectations of the Tamil makkal on probity from their political leaders and everyone has to now change course whether they like it or not.
Annamalai very aggressively added in his speech on April 14th that he will put forward the corruption on every single that has been power which clearly includes the AIADMK. This other Dravida party has been insecure about Annamalai’s style of politics and now they would have realized by now that BJP top brass is fully supporting Annamalai and they will also not be spared if they don’t fall in line and support BJP in the 2024 elections which is actually BJP’s election under Modi’s leadership. It is clear that Annamalai’s BJP in Tamil Nadu will not hesitate to severe ties with them and go solo. All in all, I think this is a political masterstroke by Annamalai and I can see that he is becoming stronger and stronger by the day. Hope Tamil Nadu will see cleaner politics in the years to come.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
Schooling Thirumavalavan About Ambedkar’s Position On Sanskrit
VCK MP Thirumavalavan said that Justice GR Swaminathan’s claim that Ambedkar wanted Sanskrit to be made the national language of India is immoral.
Justice GR Swaminathan addressing law students at a function commemorating BR Ambedkar’s 133rd birth anniversary at Raj Bhavan said that Dr. Ambedkar wanted Sanskrit to be India’s national language. Madurai bench of Madras High Court Judge G R Swaminathan said, “Ambedkar wanted Sanskrit as the national language. If we develop negative thoughts in our minds against Sanskrit or Hindi, it is not good for our life and career.”
Justice GR Swaminathan further said, “It is not good for our life and career to develop an anti-Sanskrit, and anti-Hindi attitude as linguistic obsession will lead us nowhere.”
Responding to Justice GR Swaminathan’s comments, VCK MP Thirumavalavan denied GR Swaminathan’s claim that Ambedkar wanted Sanskrit to be made the national language.
Thirumavalavan further said that Ambedkar never praised Sanskrit anywhere and that he questioned the literary richness in Sanskrit. He added that it is immoral to distort Ambedkar’s opinion on Sanskrit.
However, the history tells us otherwise. Babasaheb Ambedkar always spoke in support of making Sanskrit as our national language.
It is the Left, Liberals, and Dravidian Stockists who spread the false belief that Sanskrit is a language of Aryans and Brahmins that is destroying Tamil. Thirumavalavan has been trying hard to push this narrative amongst Dalits in Tamil Nadu.
For centuries, the British have implanted these thoughts in the minds of Dalits, and now anti-national Dravidian, Communist, Christian, and Islamic forces are constantly implanting these thoughts in the minds of Dalits.
But it’s not just the Brahmin community who are acquainted with Sanskrit knowledge. Consider the Valluvar community (one among Dalits), who are great and famous in astronomy, astrology, and other related fields. They have served as kaniyans (astrologers) for several kings. Astrology and astronomy cannot be pursued as a profession unless the Sanskrit language is mastered. This demonstrates that Dalits were also masters of Sanskrit.
It is a historical mystery how Sanskrit, which was the language of all people, eventually came to be construed as language of one particular community. Contemporary Dalits have studied Sanskrit as well. For example, K. Iyothee Thass Pandithar, his father were well-versed in Sanskrit. At the same time, there have been many accounts of people such as Dr. Ambedkar and Dr. MR Jayakar being chased away by the dominant caste who refused to teach them Sanskrit implying that Dalits have been interested in learning Sanskrit.
Dr. Ambedkar did not despise Sanskrit because of horrible past. After Dr. Ambedkar learnt a little bit of Sanskrit, partly by himself and also with the help of a few pandits, Ambedkar had high regards for the language. He said, “Sanskrit is the golden treasure of epics, the cradle of grammar , political philosophy and home of logic, dramas, and criticism”. This has been quoted in Dhananjay Keer’s biography of Ambedkar titled ‘Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission ‘.
Dr. Ambedkar that Sanskrit be designated as India’s national language. Ambedkar, who took part in the Constituent Assembly debate, stated unequivocally that Sanskrit should be declared India’s national language.
All leading dailies like National Herald, The Statesman, The Hindu and The Sunday Hindustan Standard, gave the details of the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly (in their issue dated September 11, 1949).
In this regard, when a PTI correspondent asked Ambedkar if he supported Sanskrit, he shot back saying, “What is wrong with Sanskrit?”
The news was widely published in the newspapers at the time. In an interview with The Sunday Hindustan Standard on September 11, 1949, Baba Saheb Ambedkar stated, “As Law Minister, I insisted in Parliament that Sanskrit be officially recognised as India’s official language.”
The book written by Prof. Satyabodh Hudlikar in Ambedkar Special Publication published by Navayugam on April 13, 1947, contains details of the instances when Babasaheb Ambedkar spoke in support of making Sanskrit the national language of India. It was also published in The Sunday Hindustan Standard on September 11, 1949 and The Hindu on 11th September, 1949.
During the All India Scheduled Classes Federation meeting, Dr. Ambedkar emphasised the same point. However, some members including BP Maurya objected to Ambedkar’s remarks on Sanskrit. This caused Dr. Ambedkar a great deal of grief. BP Maurya wrote a letter to NCERT a few years later. In the letter, he stated that he acted in this manner due to his ignorance and hatred of the Sanskrit language.
Dalits who follow Babasaheb Ambedkar continue to ignore the treasure of Sanskrit, either due to ignorance or the false propaganda spread by the Leftists and Dravidian Stockists.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.