Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay has filed revised affidavits for the Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East Assembly constituencies, showing an increase of ₹6 crore in his declared assets, as reported in Dinamalar.
Vijay, who is contesting from both Chennai’s Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East constituencies, had earlier filed his nomination in Perambur on 30 March 2026. In the affidavit submitted at that time, he had stated that he was 52 years old and that no criminal cases were pending against him.
However, in the affidavit filed along with his nomination for the Tiruchirappalli East constituency, he had declared his age as 51 and disclosed that two cases were pending against him in Madurai and Chennai (Perambur). The discrepancies between the two affidavits submitted in different constituencies had triggered controversy.
Amid this, Vijay’s side submitted additional affidavits yesterday for both the Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East Assembly constituencies. In these revised filings, it has emerged that his total asset value has increased by ₹6 crore compared to the earlier declaration.
In the previous affidavit, Vijay had declared his total assets to be ₹642 crore. In the revised affidavit, this has been increased to ₹648 crore. The increase is attributed to the inclusion of a Tata Caravan vehicle valued at ₹6 crore, which has now been listed under movable assets.
In the additional affidavit filed in Perambur, Vijay has also corrected his age to 51 and included details of the pending cases in both Perambur and Madurai.
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A survey conducted by Dinamalar in association with Chanakyaa has indicated a close contest in Tamil Nadu, with 40% of respondents stating that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhaga-led NDA would win if elections were held today, while 37% said the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam would emerge victorious.
Survey Scope
The survey was conducted in March 2026 across 70 constituencies, covering 19,305 respondents. The first phase of the results was released on the Dinamalar website and broadcast live on social media, while the second phase has now been published.
On Promise Delivery
According to the findings, when respondents were asked whether the DMK government had fulfilled its promises, 11% said it had fulfilled them completely, 22% said it had done nothing, and 67% said it had partially fulfilled its promises.
Performance Rating
In terms of rating the DMK government out of 10, 15% of respondents awarded full marks, 26% gave zero, and 59% gave half marks.
Corruption
On the issue of corruption under the DMK government, 9% of respondents said there was no corruption, 37% said there was corruption to some extent, and 54% said corruption was very high.
Central Agency Action
Regarding actions taken by central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department, and CBI against DMK functionaries, 22% of respondents viewed them as politically motivated, 34% expressed no opinion, and 44% considered the actions justified.
Opposition Performance
When asked about the best-performing opposition party, 54% of respondents chose the AIADMK, followed by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam at 18% and the Naam Tamilar Katchi at 17%.
Opposition Leader Performance
On the question of the best-performing opposition leader, 64% selected Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), while 18% each chose Seeman and actor-politician Vijay.
Vijay’s Political Entry
Assessing Vijay’s political entry, 19% of respondents described it as “super,” 35% termed it “bad,” and 46% said it was “okay.”
Key Election Issue
On the key issue influencing the election, 41% of respondents identified corruption as the primary concern, 16% cited alleged high-handedness by the central government, and 43% pointed to other issues.
Vote Share Projection
In a direct question on electoral outcome, 40% of respondents said the AIADMK-led NDA would win, 37% chose the DMK, 18% backed the TVK, and 5% supported the NTK.
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In a fresh embarrassment for Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), party candidate Aadhav Arjuna has triggered ridicule and confusion with a series of statements that appear to undercut his own party’s prospects while praising rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and canvassing for votes for VCK while wearing TVK colours.
Speaking to reporters in Villivakkam after an event where around 150 members from other parties formally joined TVK, Aadhav Arjuna claimed that DMK was poised for a landslide in Chennai. “In Chennai’s 16 constituencies, in 13 constituencies DMK will achieve a very big victory,” he declared, a remark that quickly went viral as viewers mocked the apparent slip of the tongue from a candidate expected to campaign against DMK.
Yet another video has only added to the perception of a candidate struggling to stay on message. While canvassing door-to-door, Arjuna tells voters that people are coming out of their homes, smiling and welcoming his team, proudly describing this as the reception for the “Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.” He says, “When we go to each house and meet the people, they come out from inside, smile and welcome us. This is the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.”
Moments later, turning to a woman greeting him from the doorstep, he abruptly shouts, “Akka, Viduthalai Siruthai,” invoking the name of the party he was associated with earlier and leaving people wondering which flag he is actually carrying.
Taken together, the clips have earned Aadhav Arjuna an unflattering reputation online as TVK’s “blabber master,” with opponents circulating the videos as evidence of a confused campaign and party supporters scrambling to explain away the serial gaffes as mere slips of the tongue.
It is noteworthy that Aadhav Arjuna was first associated with the DMK and then moved to the VCK and finally jumped to the TVK and hence seems to be confused?
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Major political parties in Tamil Nadu have not fielded any Brahmin candidates in the ongoing Assembly elections, marking the first such instance in 35 years and indicating a decline in the community’s electoral presence.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has not nominated any Brahmin candidate this time. Its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, also does not have any Brahmin candidates among the 27 seats allotted to it, though it has secured support from the Tamil Nadu Brahmin Association. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Indian National Congress have likewise not fielded any Brahmin candidates.
Brahmins are estimated to constitute around 3% of the state’s population. Most candidates fielded by major parties are reported to belong to Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities, except in constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
In contrast, actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has fielded two Brahmin candidates, while Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi has fielded six. These candidates have been placed in constituencies such as Mylapore and Srirangam, where Brahmin voters are present in relatively higher numbers.
Over the decade following the death of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, a Brahmin leader, the AIADMK had fielded only one Brahmin candidate: R. Nataraj, a retired Director General of Police in the 2021 Assembly elections, indicating a gradual reduction in representation.
Political commentator Raveendran Duraisamy was reported as stating that the AIADMK had done injustice to the Brahmin community, adding that leaders such as Jayalalithaa and M. G. Ramachandran had historically fielded Brahmin candidates.
Political analyst Arun Kumar was reported as saying that the AIADMK had retained Brahmin support for decades, but that this support had shifted in recent years. He indicated that after Jayalalithaa’s death, Brahmin voters had increasingly moved towards the BJP, resulting in reduced electoral incentive for AIADMK to field candidates from the community.
On the rationale behind NTK fielding six Brahmin candidates, analysts were reported as saying that the party’s ideological positioning played a role. Times of India reported political analyst Ayyanathan as stating that the party had taken an anti-Periyar stance and used caste and identity explicitly in its political messaging, including references to dismantling the “Dravidian wall.”
In the case of the TVK, observers were reported as stating that there appeared to be no clearly defined rationale in candidate selection. However, it was suggested that the party may be attempting to signal that it is not an anti-Brahmin formation, despite identifying Periyar as one of its ideological icons.
The DMK, meanwhile, has nominated actor Kamal Haasan to the Rajya Sabha. Analysts were reported as noting that he identifies as an atheist. They added that while the DMK does not have formal rules excluding Brahmins, its broader political position has focused on non-Brahmin empowerment.
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The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) has decided to contest only one seat in the upcoming Puducherry Assembly elections, according to party General Secretary D. Ravikumar, as reported in The Print.
Ravikumar announced that the party, which is part of the Congress-led I.N.D.I. alliance in Puducherry, will contest from the Uzhavarkarai constituency in the elections scheduled for April 9. He added that party workers would focus on ensuring the alliance’s victory in the remaining constituencies.
The VCK had initially planned to contest four seats – Nettapakkam, Oussudu, Uzhavarkarai, and Yanam. However, the decision was revised following discussions between Mukul Wasnik and VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan.
Speaking to the media, Thirumavalavan said, “After the talks held in Puducherry by Mr. Mukul Wasnik and several other leaders, it was decided that only in Uzhavarkarai the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal (VCK) candidate will contest, and the others, that is those belonging to Congress and DMK, the alliance partners, will work, strive and campaign for the victory of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal candidate.”
In what comes as an example of ‘slavery’ to alliance, he said, “On that basis, in the constituencies of Oussudu, Nettapakkam and Yanam, where we had already filed nomination papers, even if those nomination papers are not withdrawn, we will not engage in vote-seeking or electioneering. Instead, we have taken the decision that we will work for the victory of the Congress candidates and campaign for their success.”
திருமாவளவனின் இன்றைய காமெடி.
நாங்க புதுச்சேரியில் நிறுத்திய வேட்பாளர்களுக்கு வாக்களிக்க வேண்டாம்.
எந்த கட்சி தலைவராவது இப்படி பேசுவாங்களா? ஆனா திருமா பேசுவார்.
Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin drew attention during an election campaign event in Ramanathapuram after declining to accept a vel (spear) offered by a party functionary while accepting a Buddha statue presented by another, as reported in Dinamalar.
Udhayanidhi Stalin was canvassing for votes on Tuesday night in the Ramanathapuram palace area. After concluding his address, party functionaries came forward to present him with gifts.
According to sources present at the venue, when a functionary offered him a vel, he briefly received it but immediately returned it. Moments later, another functionary presented him with a Buddha statue, which he accepted.
The contrasting responses reportedly triggered surprise among those gathered at the event.
It is noteworthy that he visited a temple in his Chepauk constituency to receive blessings.
Earlier in the day, while travelling from Paramakudi to Ramanathapuram, Udhayanidhi Stalin’s vehicle was stopped by flying squad officials near the Achundanvayal check post for inspection as part of election monitoring procedures.
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AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) launched a sharp attack on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin during an election campaign rally held in Villupuram over the weekend.
Addressing the gathering, EPS criticized remarks allegedly made by the Chief Minister at a recent meeting in Nagercoil and questioned his conduct and language in public life. He said, “Today, at a meeting in Nagercoil, he speaks. Chief Minister M. K. Stalin speaks saying that I was lying down on a veranda. He has ‘discovered’ that. Mr. Stalin, you always keep saying that you are the son of Muthuvel Karunanidhi. Muthuvel Karunanidhi came on a ‘thiruttu rail’ (without ticket). Don’t we know to say that? Watch your tongue. You are a Chief Minister and the leader of a party. You must speak responsibly. If you speak irresponsibly, even our party worker cannot tolerate it, Mr. Stalin.
If you are so casual about someone who came by thiruttu rail (without train ticket), then what is there to say about someone like me, who was born in a farmer’s family and rose through hard work? Just because one has a mouth and tongue, can one say whatever they want? Don’t we know how to speak? Don’t we have a tongue? Mr. Stalin, you need discipline in speech. You are a Chief Minister who does not even have the courage or strength to question your party’s deputy general secretary Mr. Raja. And so, former Chief Minister Mr. Karunanidhi – if he has imprisoned his own father at home, what will be the fate of the people of this nation?”
“Revenge is Sweet when it’s served Cold”.
For too long EPS kept quiet when DMK & MK Stalin kept calling the EPS with unparliamentary words, EPS was calm and composed then.
But when time ripened, EPS hits where it will hurt DMK ecosystem & Stalin.
It is noteworthy that the ‘thiruttu rail’ anecdote was mentioned in Kaviarasu Kannadasan in his book Vanavasam that was published 50 years ago. This was also mentioned by former TN CM and the then-ADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa.
அம்மா ~
கவியரசு கண்ணதாசன் அவர்களால் எழுதப்பட்ட வனவாசம் புத்தகம் 50 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு வெளியிடப்பட்டது.. pic.twitter.com/YWtMtwrvSg
The Communist Party of India and its offshoots have long claimed the mantle of progressive, anti-colonial politics. But a closer examination of the historical record, drawn from CIA intelligence reports, mainstream newspaper archives, published academic scholarship, and the party’s own publications, reveals a far more troubling picture: one of consistent alignment with foreign powers and ideologies, often at direct cost to India’s national interest.
The Origins: A Party Born Of Foreign Ideology
The Communist Party of India (CPI) was established in 1925, in an era when the Soviet Communist International (Comintern) was actively funding and directing the formation of communist parties across the world. From its very inception, the CPI’s ideological allegiances were tied not to Indian soil, but to directives emanating from Moscow.
For nearly four decades, the CPI remained the sole communist formation in India. The split came in 1964, driven by the widening Sino-Soviet rift of the late 1950s and early 1960s. As the Soviet Union under Khrushchev moved towards “peaceful coexistence” and Mao’s China advocated armed revolution, the fault lines within Indian communism became irreconcilable. The 1962 Sino-Indian War served as the final trigger: a significant pro-China faction broke away to form the CPI(M) on 7 November 1964. In simple terms – the CPI followed the Soviet line, and the CPI(M) followed the Chinese line. Neither formation was rooted in Indian national interest.
The fracture deepened further in 1969, when the CPI (Marxist-Leninist), or CPI(ML), was formed specifically to oppose parliamentary politics and pursue armed revolution – a stated objective written into its own constitution. This is the direct ideological ancestor of India’s Maoist/Naxalite movement, which has claimed thousands of Indian lives.
WWII: Communists As British Collaborators Against Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
Perhaps the most damning chapter in Indian communist history is their conduct during the Second World War. When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was building the Indian National Army (INA) and forging international alliances to militarily defeat the British and liberate India, the CPI was doing the exact opposite, actively helping the British colonial government suppress the freedom movement.
The reason is straightforward: after Hitler attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, the CPI overnight switched from opposing British rule to supporting it. Moscow’s directive to protect the Allied war effort overrode any commitment to Indian independence. Protecting the USSR was the CPI’s true priority.
The CPI’s official mouthpiece, the magazine “People’s War”, published on 25 September 1943, ran two notorious cartoons:
Netaji depicted as a midget being led by the hand by Japan’s General Tojo, portraying him as a puppet of Japanese imperialism
Netaji being hurled into a circus ring by a figure wearing the Nazi Hakenkreuz, openly mocking his efforts
These were not isolated incidents. Between 1942 and 1945, People’s War ran a sustained campaign against Netaji, variously depicting him as:
A “cur held up by Goebbels”
The “running dog of General Tojo”
A “donkey carrying Tojo”
A pig with a human mask
Image Source: Monidipa Dey X handleImage Source: Sreejith Panickar X handleImage Source: Sreejith Panickar X handleImage Source: Sreejith Panickar X handle
The magazine even fabricated stories claiming Bose was “living a luxurious life in a Rangoon villa with corrupt Axis money” – pure colonial propaganda.
As the extract from K.K. Chaudhari’s landmark book“Quit India Revolution: The Ethos of Its Central Direction” documents, the sabotage went beyond cartoons. CPI General Secretary P.C. Joshi personally went to Sir Reginald Maxwell, the British Home Secretary, and pledged to help destroy the Quit India Movement of 1942. Joshi reportedly submitted 120-page performance reports to Maxwell boasting of the CPI’s work against the freedom movement.
The book quotes directly: “Joshi was so anxious to prove the CPI’s utility to the British rule that he claimed that he was doing a better job of stemming the Quit India Movement, of denouncing Subhas Babu and leaders of the Congress underground, than the government itself. The tone and contents of Joshi’s performance report reveal crystal clear what the CPI had done to sabotage the 1942 movement.”
As early as February 1941, the Communists had heaped abuse on Bose, dismissing his historic call of “Do or Die” as an “indication of bankruptcy of thought”. A party that actively collaborated with British colonisers, fabricated stories about the nation’s greatest freedom fighter, and sabotaged a mass independence movement has no moral authority to claim a freedom-fighting legacy.
Direct Action Day 1946: Hand-in-Glove with the Muslim League
The Direct Action Day of 16 August 1946 which triggered the Great Calcutta Killings and left thousands dead is another moment that exposes the CPI’s political choices during a moment of national crisis.
The Muslim League under Jinnah called for Direct Action to demand Pakistan. Rather than opposing the communal violence that followed, the CPI hailed Direct Action Day as “an anti-imperialist expression of the Muslim masses”. The party had long supported the Muslim League’s demand for Pakistan as a “precondition for the transfer of power.” During the riots themselves, CPI workers were sheltered and protected by Muslim League supporters. Jyoti Basu, who would later serve as West Bengal’s longest-serving Chief Minister, openly defended the communist position during subsequent Assembly debates.
At a moment when India was bleeding, the CPI chose factional ideological solidarity over national unity.
1962: Punishing Patriots Within Their Own Ranks
The CIA Directorate of Intelligence report, from the CAESAR, ESAU, and POLO series, documents that left-faction members of the CPI Central Secretariat, particularly Basavapunniah, were actively promoting the Chinese line within the party as early as late 1959. The report records that Basavapunniah conveyed to party meetings Mao’s direct claims, passed through party chief Ghosh, that:
Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, and the Northwest Frontier Agency were “provinces peopled by the same race” as China
China had a “historic right” to these territories
The McMahon Line was not valid
India’s warnings about Chinese aggression were merely a “bogey”
Image Source: Monidipa Dey X handle
This Chinese territorial propaganda was being internally circulated by CPI leaders three years before the 1962 war even broke out.
When the war did come, the party’s pro-China tilt was turned against its own cadre who dared to be patriotic. The Indian Express article documents how V.S. Achuthanandan, then a young Kerala CPI cadre, later to become Kerala Chief Minister, publicly called on people to donate blood for Indian jawans fighting on the frontlines. The party leadership punished him severely for this act of basic patriotism.
Senior Kerala CPM leader M.M. Lawrence was quoted in the Indian Express as saying: “Achuthanandan donated blood to the army without consulting the party. His move amounted to helping the government which then tried to wreck the communist party. Hence, that action was anti-party.”
Image Source: Monidipa Dey X handle
Achuthanandan was formally declared an “anti-communist,” demoted from the Central Committee to the branch level, and exiled to the Alappuzha District Secretariat for one full year as punishment for wanting India to win its own war against a foreign invader.
A Legacy Without Nationalist Credentials
The historical record is unambiguous. Across every major national crisis from the 1940s to the 1960s – the independence movement, the Quit India uprising, Partition-era violence, and the Chinese invasion, the Communist Party of India consistently placed foreign ideological allegiances above Indian national interest. They attacked India’s greatest freedom fighter on behalf of their British colonial masters, sabotaged the Quit India Movement, aligned with the Muslim League during Partition bloodshed, circulated Chinese territorial propaganda against India, and punished their own members for the “crime” of supporting Indian soldiers at war.
When the CPI(M) today claims a legacy of nationalism and freedom struggle, it is making a claim that its own historical record, its own party publications, and independent intelligence assessments conclusively contradict.
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The DMK government in Tamil Nadu which claims to be sole custodian of Tamil rights and pride comprises of a cabinet where a third of ministers are of Telugu origin, and they sit over some of the most resource‑heavy portfolios in the state budget.
This article traces who they are, what they control, and how that squares with the claim that around 25% of ministers with non‑Tamil (specifically Telugu) roots influence significant portion of Tamil Nadu’s expenditure.
M. Karunanidhi, the architect of the current DMK lineage, was born to parents from the Isai Vellalar community, a caste of temple musicians and performers. The Isai Vellalar community itself is explicitly divided into Tamil and Telugu Melakkarar linguistic sects, the latter having descended from Telugu artisans who migrated into the Thanjavur region under the Nayak and Maratha courts.
Because Karunanidhi’s family is identified in his own biographies as belonging to the Isai Vellalar/Melakkarar lineage, the Stalin family including Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin share that Telugu‑rooted cultural ancestry even though they are politically projected as the face of Tamil nationalism. This makes the top of the so‑called Dravidian Model government itself anchored in a historically Telugu‑derived sub‑caste embedded inside Tamil society.
Mapping The Cabinet: Telugu-Origin Ministers
Using the official council of ministers list and major biographical references, we can identify ministers with clear Telugu roots.
#1 M.K. Stalin – Chief Minister
Origin: Isai Vellalar – Telugu Melakkarar, via Karunanidhi’s family.
Constituency: Kolathur, Chennai.
Portfolios: Home, Police, Special Programme Implementation, general administration and all departments not allotted elsewhere.
Budget weight: Police alone receives over ₹12,700 crore in 2025‑26; Home and related administration add several thousand crores more in establishment costs.
As CM, Stalin exerts overarching control over cabinet decision‑making, including budget prioritisation, law‑and‑order expenditure, and sanction of major schemes.
#2 Udhayanidhi Stalin – Deputy Chief Minister
Origin: Same Isai Vellalar – Telugu Melakkarar lineage as his father.
Budget weight: Planning and Development is the nodal wing steering welfare schemes and project planning; youth and sports see rising capital allocations for stadiums and infrastructure.
His presence ensures a second Telugu‑origin power centre at the core of the Dravidian Model’s planning architecture.
#3 E.V. Velu – Public Works (Buildings, Highways, Minor Ports)
Origin: Telugu; his full name Ethirajulu Vajjaravelu is clearly of Andhra‑Telugu etymology, and he is widely identified as a Telugu leader from the northern belt. Reports note him belonging to the Telugu Gavara Balija community.
Constituency: Tiruvannamalai
Portfolios: Buildings, Highways, Minor Ports – essentially the roads & bridges and a large piece of the construction pipeline.
Budget weight: The transport sector’s capital outlay on roads and bridges is pegged at ₹18,456 crore in 2025‑26, within a broader transport expenditure of about ₹27,971 crore.
Velu’s Telugu base thus commands the biggest single block of capital spending in the state budget.
#4 K.N. Nehru – Municipal Administration, Urban and Water Supply
Origin: From the Reddiar community, an explicitly Telugu‑origin forward caste settled in Tamil Nadu.
Constituency: Tiruchirappalli West.
Portfolios: Municipal Administration, Urban Development, and Water Supply which cover corporations, municipalities, drinking water projects, and sewerage.
Budget weight: Urban development and water supply see a sharp rise in capital outlay; PRS notes that urban development is among the sectors with the steepest increase, and together these heads aggregate to roughly ₹13,000–14,000 crore in 2025‑26.
Nehru therefore shapes how urban Tamil Nadu’s infrastructure is financed and expanded.
#5 K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran – Revenue and Disaster Management
Origin: Belongs to the Reddiyar community; biographical records and electoral affidavits use the suffix “Reddiyar”, again a Telugu‑origin caste.
Constituency: Aruppukottai.
Portfolios: Revenue, District Revenue Establishment, Deputy Collectors, Disaster Management.
Budget weight: Revenue and disaster relief determine compensation payouts, land acquisition processes, and relief spending; together they handle several thousand crores annually, especially in flood‑ and cyclone‑prone years.
While much of the revenue department’s spending is classified as administrative, its control over land and relief flows gives disproportionate influence over local economies.
#6 R. Gandhi – Handlooms and Textiles
Origin: Kamma Naidu, a Telugu agricultural‑trader community with a strong presence in Ranipet and Vellore districts; community‑specific sources list him among Kamma leaders from Tamil Nadu.
Constituency: Ranipet, part of the northern Telugu belt.
Portfolios:Handlooms & Textiles, Bhoodan and Gramdan.
Budget weight: Handloom and textile policy affects subsidies, cooperative mills, and capital assistance for a sector that is a major employer; allocations here run into a few thousand crores when schemes and incentives are included.
Gandhi’s role links the Telugu business community with state support to textiles and loom cooperatives.
#7 P.K. Sekar Babu – Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE)
Origin: Identified by Kamma‑community documentation as belonging to the Telugu Kamma settler group in north Chennai.
Constituency: Harbour, which has long‑settled Telugu and north‑Indian populations.
Portfolios: HR&CE (which manages thousands of temples and their vast property), and chairing roles in the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) through his ministerial charge.
Budget weight: Although HR&CE’s budget head is modest compared with transport or education, the department controls significant temple lands, rental income, and endowments; CMDA decisions, meanwhile, influence large‑ticket urban land values and project approvals.
Sekar Babu thus wields strategic control over temple wealth and key planning decisions in the capital region.
#8 M. Mathiventhan – Adi Dravidar Welfare
Origin: From the Arunthathiyar community, a Scheduled Caste whose roots are reportedly in Telugu‑speaking regions; anthropological records classify them as a Telugu‑origin group that migrated into Tamil country.
Constituency: Rasipuram.
Portfolios: Adi Dravidar Welfare, welfare of hill tribes and bonded labour.
Budget weight: Targeted welfare schemes, scholarships, and housing for SC/ST communities fall under this ministry and account for several thousand crores in earmarked spending.
His position gives a Telugu‑origin SC leader control over a critical share of social‑justice expenditure.
#9 S. Masthan – Minister of Minorities Welfare & Waqf Board
How Much of the Budget Do These Telugu-Origin Ministers Oversee?
Tamil Nadu’s total expenditure (excluding debt repayment) for 2025‑26 is ₹4,39,293 crore, with capital outlay at ₹57,231 crore. Committed expenditure such as salaries, pensions, and interest eats up almost half of revenue receipts and is largely formulaic. The political leverage lies in:
Highways and buildings: ₹27,971 crore in transport sector spending, including ₹18,456 crore capital outlay on roads and bridges under E.V. Velu.
Energy sector: Capital outlay jump to ₹5,068 crore, though this portfolio is currently with a Tamil minister; still, it interacts with Stalin’s overall control of state public sector policy.
Urban development: A sector whose capital outlay is named by PRS as one of the three with the sharpest increase, overseen by K.N. Nehru.
Home & Police: Over ₹12,700 crore to Police alone, under Stalin’s direct charge.
SC/ST welfare, youth, planning and other schemes under Udhayanidhi, Mathiventhan and others collectively run into several thousand crores.
If one aggregates only the clearly Telugu‑headed big‑ticket sectors such as Highways (Velu), Urban & Water (Nehru), Home/Police (Stalin), and key welfare heads (Mathiventhan, Udhayanidhi), the associated expenditure easily crosses ₹1–1.5 lakh crore, depending on how sub‑heads are grouped. Relative to the total ₹4.39 lakh crore, this cluster approaches around 40% once broader scheme‑linked and establishment spending under these ministries are included, even before considering temple‑land and CMDA‑linked economic influence via Sekar Babu.
In other words, while precise quantification needs granular department‑wise numbers, there is strong evidence that a relatively small Telugu‑origin bloc occupies several of the most capital‑intensive and policy‑heavy posts in the DMK government.
What This Means For The “Dravidian Model”
The DMK’s Dravidian Model is marketed as a Tamil social‑justice project, but the social base of its leadership tells a more layered story.
The Karunanidhi family itself is of Telugu Melakkarar stock, rooted in a migrant musician caste that was linguistically Telugu.
A cluster of Telugu‑origin elites viz, Reddiars, Kamma Naidus, Melakkarars hold core portfolios in highways, urban infrastructure, revenue administration, and temple‑land management.
These ministries collectively sit over some of the highest discretionary and capital outlay items in the budget, meaning strategic control over where money flows and where physical assets like roads, flyovers and urban layouts are created.
Taken together, the picture that emerges is not merely of “30% non‑Tamil ministers,” but of a Telugu‑origin power spine running through the top of the Tamil Nadu cabinet: the chief minister and his heir, the highway baron, the urban czar, the revenue strongman, and the temple‑infrastructure manager. This configuration allows a historically migrant, now entrenched set of communities from Andhra‑linked lineages to exercise influence over a disproportionately large slice of Tamil Nadu’s future.
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On 2 April 2026, Commissioner on USCIRF Dr Asif Mahmood wrote on his X handle, “Church burning, meat ban, forced marriages with young non Hindu girls and in many cases mob lynching is extremely worrisome. India needs to be designated as CPC by State Department.”
This was in response to a USCIRF post on X which quoted Mahmood as saying, “13 Indian states now have anti-conversion laws. ‘Hurting religious sentiment’ charges disproportionately harm minorities, including Christians & Muslims. The USG should designate India as a CPC & should link bilateral trade to improving FoRB conditions.”
Church burning, meat ban, forced marriages with young non Hindu girls and in many cases mob lynching is extremely worrisome.
India needs to be designated as CPC by State Department. https://t.co/D0QwsMjhgf
A look at his past statements and posts on social media expose the hidden Pakistani in him.
Who Is Dr. Asif Mahmood?
Dr. Asif Mahmood is a Pakistani-born physician who migrated to the United States in the 1990s and has since built a parallel career as a Democratic Party activist and self-described “human rights” campaigner. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) appointed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and practices as a pulmonologist and internal medicine specialist in Bradbury, California.
On the surface, his biography reads like a standard American immigrant success story. But a closer examination of his public statements, social media posts, and institutional decisions as USCIRF Vice Chair reveals a pattern of sustained, one-sided, and increasingly hostile targeting of India – its government, intelligence agencies, cultural organisations, laws, and even religious practices.
He is the first Muslim and first person of Asian origin to hold the Vice Chair position at USCIRF. He has leveraged that platform aggressively and almost exclusively to push punitive U.S. policy measures against India.
What Is USCIRF?
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is a bipartisan federal government commission established by the Clinton administration in 1998. It “monitors” religious freedom globally and makes annual recommendations to the U.S. State Department, Congress, and the White House. It can recommend that countries be designated as “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) – a label that can trigger U.S. sanctions, diplomatic pressure, and trade restrictions.
Several of its commissioners have been linked to hardline Christian-supremacist groups, while others maintain associations with Islamic organizations accused of supporting extremist agendas. The Commission has even positioned itself as a defender of Khalistani separatists, issuing statements that effectively endorse the rhetoric of individuals tied to terror networks. In its reaction to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, USCIRF went so far as to accuse India of “transnational repression,” echoing separatist propaganda rather than presenting evidence-based analysis. These ideological entanglements expose USCIRF as a politically motivated body wielding the language of “religious freedom” to target India while shielding extremist elements it finds ideologically convenient.
USCIRF’s recommendations are advisory and non-binding – the State Department is not obligated to follow them. However, repeated CPC recommendations build a political and diplomatic narrative that can damage a country’s international image and bilateral relationships. This is precisely what Mahmood has used the platform for.
The USCIRF has repeatedly placed India (of all places) in the Countries of Particular Concern list and has even called for sanctions against RSS and R&AW.
USCIRF 2026 Annual Report: Sanctions On RAW And RSS
In March 2026, USCIRF under Mahmood’s vice-chairmanship released its annual report on India. It was, by any measure, the most aggressive anti-India position the Commission has ever taken. Among its key recommendations:
Designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for the 7th consecutive year for allegedly engaging in “systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.”
Impose targeted sanctions on R&AW, India’s Research and Analysis Wing, its premier external intelligence agency over allegations of “transnational repression.”
Impose targeted sanctions on RSS, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, marking the first time in USCIRF history that sanctions were recommended against a major Indian civil society organisation.
Link bilateral U.S.-India trade to improvements in religious freedom conditions in India.
Enforce Section 6 of the Arms Export Control Act to halt arms sales to India.
Pass a Transnational Repression Reporting Act requiring annual reporting specifically on alleged Indian government targeting of minorities in the United States.
India rejected the report outright as “biased and distorted.” Former J&K DGP S.P. Vaid publicly called it Pakistan-driven propaganda. Indian commentators across the political spectrum questioned the credibility of a body whose Vice Chair is a Pakistani-origin activist with a documented record of anti-India posts.
The recommendation to sanction R&AW, India’s CIA equivalent, was described by analysts as not just hostile, but absurd: imagine an Indian government body recommending sanctions on the CIA for human rights violations. That is the level of entitlement embedded in Mahmood’s USCIRF report.
Before we dig deeper into his posts, here is what he wrote and felt about India. In 2017, he wrote on X (then Twitter), “Pakistan was founded and carved off India on the basis of Islam. It should rightly remain so and ruled by a Muslim leaders. Give no breath to Sikhs and Hindus. It’s a land of Islam. Inshallah.”
This is itself quite revealing of his mindset.
Image Source: X
May 2024: The Khalistani Conspiracy Push
On 8 May 2024, Mahmood posted on X after a meeting with U.S. Senator Cory Booker: “We had a thorough discussion about victimization and assassination by implanted agents from #India of #Sikhs in the United States, Canada and Pakistan and means to counter these…”
Appreciate my dear friend and leader #SenatorCoryBooker a huge voice on global issues in US Senate.
We had a thorough discussion about victimization and assassination by implanted agents from #India of #Sikhs in the United States, Canada and Pakistan and means to counter these… pic.twitter.com/HEAeMCtvIW
He made these allegations with zero evidence. He framed India as a state assassinating Sikh activists on foreign soil, a serious diplomatic allegation, without providing a single verifiable source or legal proceeding to back the claim. This was not an isolated outburst. He was taking the allegation into the halls of the U.S. Senate.
Around the same period, he posted: “Why #India is so obsessed with #Canada. While #HarderpSinghNajjar murder case is still matter of huge contention between the two countries and now another even bigger allegation about Indian involvement in Canadian elections. India owes a truthful and transparent explanation to the Democratic World.”
Image Source: OpIndia
2024: Madrassa Ban – Misrepresenting a Court Order as Political Persecution
When the Uttar Pradesh government shut down thousands of unrecognised madrassas, Mahmood posted: “Religious freedom is a basic human right.”
Image Source: OpIndia
– framing the action as the BJP government banning 25,000 Islamic schools for electoral gain.
What Mahmood chose not to mention: The action followed a landmark ruling by the Allahabad High Court, which declared the UP Board of Madrasa Education Act 2004 unconstitutional. The closure was court-mandated, not politically engineered. By omitting this central fact, Mahmood converted a judicial ruling into communal propaganda.
March 2024: Weaponising CAA Against India
When India notified the rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act in March 2024, Mahmood posted: “Citizenship Amendment Act #CAA2019 being implemented in #India intentionally coincided with the #Ramadan2024 to send a clear message to the #Muslims of India that you are no longer equal citizens. Religious Freedom at its lowest and Religious Discrimination at its highest expose India and #Modi of its shallow Secular Claims.”
Image Source: OpIndia
The CAA is a humanitarian law that fast-tracks citizenship for persecuted religious minorities such as Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who fled persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. It explicitly does not strip any Indian Muslim of citizenship or rights. Mahmood’s characterisation of it as a message to Muslims that they are “no longer equal citizens” is factually false and he knew it.
January 2024: Ram Temple = “End of Secular India”
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, one of the most significant events in modern Indian religious and cultural life, Mahmood posted: “Is the #RamTemple inauguration by Prime Minister #Modi and circumstances around it the beginning of the end of Secular #India? ReligousFreedom is at its the lowest point in India today and civilized world needs to pay attention.”
Image Source: OpIndia
The Ram Mandir was built on land awarded by the Supreme Court of India after a three-decade legal process. Its consecration was a matter of national religious celebration. Mahmood framed it as evidence of India’s democratic decay — while remaining conspicuously silent about the state of religious minorities, temples, and non-Muslims in his country of origin, Pakistan.
In April 2024, he was seen fearmongering about Indian democracy and religious minorities. He claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi pursues a Hindu nationalist agenda to scapegoat Muslims, urging: “We all need to stand up to save the future and lives of a quarter billion Muslims and other minorities in India.”
Image Source: OpIndia
2023: Pushing Pakistan’s Kashmir Narrative
In 2023, Mahmood posted on X: “Another sad and dark day for #Democracy #Justice and #SelfDeterminationRight for #Kashmiris in a long struggle for them and their children future. #US and rest of the Democratic world should pay attention on encroachment of #India in #Kashmir.”
Image Source: OpIndia
Calling India’s constitutional governance of its own territory an “encroachment” is not a human rights position. It is Pakistan’s official foreign policy position, regurgitated verbatim by a sitting U.S. government commissioner.
In 2023, he wrote, “It’s important to bring up the brutalities against #Muslims, #Sikhs, #Christians and other minorities in #India while #PMModi is in #WashingtonDC. #HumanRights protection and respect should be the foundation of any relationship #US has anywhere. Inclusive India is good for all”.
Image Source: OpIndia
The Pattern: What He Always Does
Across every single statement, tweet, and institutional action, Mahmood follows the same playbook:
Select an incident or policy in India involving Muslims or Christians
Strip out all legal, judicial, or factual context that complicates the narrative
Frame it as evidence of Hindu-nationalist persecution of minorities
Call for formal U.S. government action: sanctions, CPC designation, trade linkage, arms embargo
He never applies this template to Pakistan, where Hindus, Christians, and Ahmadis face documented, severe, state-endorsed persecution. He has never called for Pakistan to be designated a CPC. He has never recommended sanctions on Pakistan’s ISI. He has never condemned the forced conversion of Hindu girls in Sindh, a documented crisis, despite claiming that forced marriages in India are “extremely worrisome.”
That selective silence is not a coincidence. It is the defining feature of his operation.
Who Backs Him?
Mahmood’s positions are celebrated by:
Pakistani state media (Geo TV ran a sympathetic profile defending him from “Indian trolls”)
IAMC (Indian American Muslim Council) – a U.S.-based Islamist lobbying group
The Wire, Scroll, Maktoob, Muslim Mirror – Indian left-liberal outlets
Congress party leaders, who amplified the USCIRF 2026 report’s RSS sanctions recommendation on X
This coalition that is Pakistani media, U.S.-based Islamist lobbies, and India’s domestic opposition is the audience Mahmood plays to. His USCIRF platform gives their shared narrative the veneer of official U.S. government authority.
India’s Response
India has consistently rejected USCIRF’s reports on India as biased, politically motivated, and factually inaccurate. The Ministry of External Affairs has called the reports “distorted” and pointed out the commission’s lack of standing to assess India’s internal affairs.
India has also refused USCIRF requests to conduct “in-country assessments” – a demand the Commission made in its 2026 report. The MEA has correctly noted that USCIRF has no locus standi to conduct assessments inside a sovereign democratic country, let alone the world’s largest democracy.
Last Word
Dr. Asif Mahmood is not a neutral human rights advocate who happens to have concerns about India. He is a Pakistani-origin Democratic Party activist who has used a U.S. government platform to wage a consistent, multi-year, escalating campaign of narrative warfare against India targeting its intelligence agencies, cultural organisations, laws, judiciary, and religious practices.
The question India must ask is not about Mahmood alone. It is about the institutional capture of USCIRF by individuals with undisguised ideological and ethnic hostility toward India and what diplomatic and political steps India must take to counter the credibility damage caused by a body whose Vice Chair openly runs Pakistan’s foreign policy playbook from Washington D.C.
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