Public enraged as DMK candidate asks for votes by kissing young female voters

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April 5, 2021

The DMK candidate from the Coundampalayam constituency has been facing the wrath of the public for asking for votes by kissing young female voters. In a shocking new display by the DMK, Paiya Kounder, DMK’s Coundampalayam constituency candidate, has gone one step further among the DMK candidates who have become the favourite children of controversy by derogating women.

While on the last leg of campaign, Paiya Kounder had campaigned in the streets on Sunday in the localities under the Coimbatore Coundampalayam constituency and engaged in canvassing. The public in the area had welcomed the candidate using Aarti and flowers. The first house he had visited had had a young woman voter to whom he had asked whom she would vote for, since this was her first time as a voter. Having gotten caught off guard, the young woman replied that she was going to vote for him.

Following this, the candidate grabbed the woman’s hand, much to the shock of those around and kissed it. This shocked DMK volunteers who had accompanied him, as well as the people of the area.

The people of the Coundampalayam constituency are dissatisfied with the act of Paiya Kounder as he has been involved in activities such asbehaving inappropriately with women.

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#DMKLosingTN trends on Twitter one day before the elections

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The Commune

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April 5, 2021

Easter Sunday also marked the last day of election campaigns in Tamilnadu, and all parties were seen campaigning with every last breath they had. With one day to go for the elections, the DMK was shocked to see all the mistakes, anarchy, corruption, atrocities and whatnot committed by the DMK in the major newspapers of Tamil Nadu published on Sunday.

The highlight of all of this was the fact that, on the day of the last campaign, DMK leader Stalin had actually forgotten the campaign speech he had already written, or rather the one that had been written for him.

In light of all of the above, the cherry on top was the fact that the hashtag #DMKLosingTN has become a trend in India with over 30000 tweets on Twitter. Since this had happened with just over an hour to go before the end of the campaign, the DMK is baffled by the hashtag #DMKLosingTN.

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Team from India to visit US for induction of crucial naval helicopters

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The Commune

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April 5, 2021

Featured Image: A Sea King Helicopter with the Indian Navy  | Credits: Getty Images

India will soon send a team to the USA for the induction of the MH-60 “Romeo” multi-mission helicopters. The choppers, produced by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, are expected to be a significant capability jump for the Indian Navy in detecting and destroying enemy submarines lurking in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

This year, the Navy will − under the ₹15,157 crore ($2.13 billion) contract inked with the US in February 2020 − receive at least 3 of the 24 heavy duty helicopters, equipped with multi-mode radars and night-vision devices as well as armed with Hellfire missiles, MK-54 torpedoes and precision-kill rockets.

The MH-60Rs are a replacement for the older Sea King 42/42A helicopters that were retired in the 1990s.

The 140-warship navy is currently strapped for antisubmarine warfare helicopters (ASW), with only a handful of old Kamov-28s and Sea Kings in its arsenal, while the presence of Chinese nuclear and diesel electric submarines is only going to increase in the IOR.

ASW choppers usually fly ahead of warships to “dunk” their sonars into deep waters, “ping” for enemy submarines, and then fire missiles, torpedoes and depth charges to clear the path for the incoming fleet during hostilities. They can also undertake over the horizon network-centric operations, antiship strikes and electronic warfare missions.

“All the 24 MH-60R helicopters, which will operate from frontline warships including aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, will be inducted by end-2023 or so. It will somewhat plug the critical operational gap on this front. The team of pilots and technicians for training and induction of the MH-60Rs will be going to the US in May-June,” an official with the defence ministry said.

Some years ago, the Navy also projected a long-term requirement for another 123 naval multi-role helicopters (NMRHs), after the 24 MH-60Rs, which were to be developed in India under the strategic partnership model as part of an as-yet unmaterialised “Make in India” project.

Manufactured by Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin, the MH-60Rs will be the third type of iconic US helicopters to be inducted by Indian armed forces. The Air Force has already inducted 22 Apache attack (for ₹13,952 crore) and 15 heavy-lift Chinook (₹8,048 crore) choppers, both produced by Boeing.

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Anil Deshmukh resigns from Maharashtra cabinet under a cloud, as Bombay HC orders CBI probe

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The Commune

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April 5, 2021

The Bombay High Court on Monday (5 April) directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a preliminary probe into allegations of corruption levelled by former Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, leading to his resignation from the cabinet.

All hell had broken loose when former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh had earlier alleged that Deshmukh had asked arrested cop Sachin Waze to extort money from restaurants and bars in Mumbai. Singh said that Deshmukh had given Waze a target of ₹100 crore a month.

Deshmukh was Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar’s direct pick to be Home Minister and was considered as one of Pawar’s key lieutenants. Deshmukh offered his resignation letter to Pawar, who then gave his consent.

pic.twitter.com/xVZrfwmwPl
— ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) April 5, 2021

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, “After the Bombay High Court ordered CBI probe on the letter of former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh, Deshmukh expressed desire to step down.”

It is an open secret that without the consent of Pawar, not even Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has the power to sack anyone. The event signals a further deterioration in the relationship between the Shiv Sena and the NCP.

In his resignation letter, Anil Deshmukh says that he doesn’t find it morally correct to continue as the Home Minister after the Bombay High Court’s order initiating a CBI probe against him. The CBI probe spells further trouble for the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

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Cash for votes scam: DMK attacks four policemen, one DMK functionary arrested

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The Commune

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April 5, 2021

Featured Image: One of the injured policemen receiving treatment at the Vaniyambadi Government Hospital |
Credits: hindutamil.in

In an incident that took place on Sunday near Vaniyambadi, DMK officials attacked four policemen, including an assistant police inspector, who tried to stop them from distributing money to voters.

As the final phase of the campaign for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections was in full swing yesterday and ended at 7 pm, the Election Flying Corps and the police are on high alert to prevent the distribution of money to voters in each constituency on the orders of the Election Commission. Political parties are attempting to distribute money to voters in order to ensure that their candidates win. This is being monitored by the Election Flying Corps and any recovered money is being confiscated.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed flying squads, election watchdogs and the police to prevent political party candidates from distributing money to voters to win elections.

In this situation, the police stopped DMK functionaries while they were distributing money to voters.

Vilvanathan is contesting from Tirupati district in the Ambur assembly constituency on the DMK ticket. In the Madanancheri area next to Vaniyambadi in the Ambur constituency, DMK executives Ravi, Perumal and Selvaraj, along with their party workers, went door-to-door with voters handing out ballot papers and cash, and campaigning for voters to vote for DMK candidate Vilvanathan.

Upon learning about this, three policemen led by Vani Yambadi Rural Assistant Inspector Kamalakkannan went to the spot. The police seized ₹52,500 from Ravi and invited him to come to the police station.

Then, DMK executives Perumal, Selvaraj and some of his accomplices, who were distributing money on another street, rushed there and barraged four people, including Assistant Inspector Kamalakkannan, with a rolling pin. They snatched the ₹52,500 that was seized by the police and fled.

Four people, including Assistant Inspector Kamalak Kannan, were injured in the attack by the DMK officials. They were immediately admitted to Vani Yambadi Government Hospital. DMK executive Ravi was arrested by the Vaniyambadi village police on a complaint. Also, the police is on the lookout for fugitive eight other DMK executives, including Selvaraj and Perumal.

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Kerala Congress Chief calls for transfer of votes to defeat BJP leader K Surendran

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The Commune

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April 5, 2021

As Kerala heads for polls tomorrow 6 April, the Congress party’s Kerala president Mullappally Ramachandran has sounded the alarm and called for a tactical backing of its ally Muslim League’s candidate in the constituency to stop the threat of ascendancy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

For the Congress, the threat of losing this constituency looms large because BJP’s Kerala state president K Surendran is contesting from Manjeshwar.

Ramachandran’s statement should be analysed carefully because various opinion polls are predicting a BJP victory in the constituency. In the 2016 assembly election, K Surendran had lost the election with a margin of only 89 votes.

The Islamist radical outfit Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the Popular Front of India (PFI), has also backed the Muslim League candidate in order to defeat the BJP. In Kerala, it is quite common for the Congress and the Muslim League to join forces.

Ramachandran is now in for the fight for his political future as he also pleads with the Communist parties to transfer votes to each other in the constituencies where the BJP has high chances of winning.

But the irony is that while the state Congress chief is asking for help from the communists, his leader Rahul Gandhi has gone on a full offensive to discredit the Communist Party of India – Marxists (CPIM) and the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government.

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Massive fire breaks out at garbage dumping yard in Mangaluru

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The Commune

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April 5, 2021

Featured Image Credits: DH Photo

An accidental fire broke out on Sunday night at a garbage dumping yard in Mangaluru’s Pacchanady area, creating a bit of a panic among the locals and residents of the surrounding localities. A haze of smoke enveloped the entire area following the fire, causing some tense moments.

In August 2019, garbage sliding from the landfill in Pacchanady had affected several families living nearby. The dumping yard receives an average of 330 tonnes of garbage every day from Mangaluru city and Ullal CMC limits.

As fire tenders rushed to the spot and did their best to douse the fire, locals too joined in. Deputy Commissioner Dr. Rajendra KV, Mayor Premananda Shetty, MCC Commissioner Akshay Sridhar and other officials visited the spot as well.

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Amit Shah and Chhattisgarh CM Baghel pay respects to security personnel killed in Naxal attack

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The Commune

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April 5, 2021

On Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in a ceremony at Jagdalpur, paid their respects to the security personnel killed in a Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh.

Home Minister Shah and Chief Minister Baghel paid their respects and laid wreaths at the coffins of the security personnel who lost their lives in the Naxal attack.

#WATCH: Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel lay wreath at the coffins of 14 security personnel who lost their lives in the Naxal attack, in Jagdalpu pic.twitter.com/fyHZSE6mjG

— ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2021

After attending the wreath-laying ceremony for the heroic jawans who died in the Chhattisgarh Naxal attack, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will hold a meeting with top officials in Jagdalpur. He will later meet injured jawans in the hospital and will also visit the CRPF camp.

At least 22 security personnel are believed to have lost their lives in the Naxal attack that took place at the Sukma-Bijapur border in Chhattisgarh. Around 31 jawans sustained injuries in the gunfight, Chhattisgarh police said.

Police also say that around 25-30 Naxals were killed in the attack as three tractors were used by the militants to ferry the injured and the bodies of the slain Naxals. Police also denied any intelligence or operational failure.

Chief Minister Baghel said that anti-Naxalite operations would continue in the state. He also said that the work of establishing police camps in the Naxal-affected areas would continue in an expedited manner.

Taiwan and France also condoled the death of the security personnel who died in the attack.

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Boozers help Excise department meet revenue target

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The Commune

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April 4, 2021

Despite the dismal economic showing throughout the lockdown in the previous fiscal year leaving the state somewhat cash-strapped, the tipplers of Karnataka came through in helping the state’s excise department surpass its revenue targets.

The budget had estimated a revenue of ₹22,700 crore for the 2020-21 fiscal as against ₹21,583 crore revenue generated for the previous 2019-20 fiscal. The target set by the state government seemed extremely difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish.

However, in an unremitting show of dipsomania, the state’s booze-guzzling citizenry held the fort and made sure that the Excise department was able to rake in a revenue amounting to a whopping ₹23,131 crore ― which is over ₹400 crore more than its revenue target.

This great success was despite the fact that the entire month of April 2020 ran dry with only ₹1.06 crore worth of liquor being sold the entire month, due to the stringent coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown.

According to data available with the excise department, while the sales were low in the first half of 2020 owing to the lockdown, there was an increase in sales post-June. The department saw an average revenue of about ₹2,000 crore a month in the second half of the year.

According to reports, a total of 583 lakh carton boxes of Indian made liquor (IML) and 237 lakh carton boxes of beer were sold across the state in 2020-21.

The Karnataka government has fixed a revenue collection target of ₹24,580 crore for the excise department for 2021-22.

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BJP’s SG Suryah challenges Congress’s Vijay Vasanth for a one-on-one debate

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The Commune

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April 4, 2021

The by-election for the Kanyakumari constituency is set to take place following the passing away of Vasantha Kumar, a Congress MP. Vasantha Kumar’s son Vijay Vasant is contesting on behalf of the Congress party. Former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan is contesting on behalf of the BJP against him.

In light of the same, during the election campaign, Congress candidate Vijay Vasant has spoken critically of the GST scheme introduced by the central Modi government. But the late Congress MP Vasantha Kumar had wholeheartedly welcomed the GST scheme. BJP spokesperson SG Surya pointed this out on Twitter. “Your father was a nationalist. He did not do low quality vote bank politics like you,” he said. Vijay Vasant responded on Twitter, saying, “I support the GST brought by the Congress and not the GST brought by the BJP.”

BJP spokesperson SG Surya then replied to this saying, “Are you ready for a direct discussion on GST? Choose the place and site for the discussion yourself. But like Udayanidhi, the head of your UPA family, I know you will block me. So I will post some facts here. Major manufacturing states like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu opposed the GST of your Congress because:

1. States will lose revenue by shifting the GST tax point from the point of production to the point of sale.

2. The Minister of Finance has full VETO powers over the decision of the GST Council.

But in the BJP’s GST,

1. We have a constitutional guarantee of 5 years to offset losses to the producing states.

2. The removal of the VETO power of the Finance Minister violating the sovereignty of the states (at the request of the Left Government of Kerala) was also supported by the DMK.”

He continued, and said, “In 2013, your own Kerala Congress government and the Maharashtra government vehemently opposed the GST of the Central Congress government. If your GST was as good as you said, why did your own governments oppose it? Speak a little truth in your politics. Learn to respect your father as well.” It remains to be seen whether Vijay Vasant will respond to all these posts, or accept his challenge for an open debate.

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The Commune

Public enraged as DMK candidate asks for votes by kissing young female voters

Team from India to visit US for induction of crucial naval helicopters

Anil Deshmukh resigns from Maharashtra cabinet under a cloud, as Bombay HC orders CBI probe

Cash for votes scam: DMK attacks four policemen, one DMK functionary arrested

Kerala Congress Chief calls for transfer of votes to defeat BJP leader K Surendran

Massive fire breaks out at garbage dumping yard in Mangaluru

Amit Shah and Chhattisgarh CM Baghel pay respects to security personnel killed in Naxal attack

Boozers help Excise department meet revenue target

BJP’s SG Suryah challenges Congress’s Vijay Vasanth for a one-on-one debate

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