The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has accused the CPI(M)-led Kerala government of deliberately spreading distorted history through school textbooks and teacher handbooks published by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT).
The student body alleged that the Class 4 Environmental Studies teachers’ handbook contained “fake propaganda” against freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, claiming he had fled to Germany out of fear of the British regime. ABVP said this amounted to defaming a national hero who had laid down his life for India’s independence.
ABVP also pointed to serious errors in the same textbook, including the omission of Assam and Jharkhand from an India map in the second chapter. The organisation described the omission as part of a larger conspiracy to weaken the country’s unity.
“By leaving out Assam, the government is indirectly supporting the Chinese Communist Party’s ambitions to occupy Indian territory, while neglecting Jharkhand exposes its disregard for tribal communities,” the organisation charged.
ABVP National Secretary Shravan B. Raj said in a statement that the move was “a calculated attempt by the Communist Party-led Kerala government to manipulate the young generation with fake narratives”. He added: “Portraying Netaji as a coward is nothing but a malicious lie. The errors in the map are not accidental but a conspiracy to damage national integrity. This is a campaign of breaking India by anti-national forces.” He further alleged that by omitting Assam, the ruling CPI(M) was showing “loyalty to their ideological progenitors in China” and misleading students, “the future of Bharat.”
ABVP Kerala State Secretary E.U. Eswaraprasad said the incident exposed the “poisonous narrative” being promoted by the Education Department. “Kerala claims to be a model for other states, but this is nothing short of a heinous act.
This is a deliberate ploy by the ruling party to plant anti-national ideas in young minds,” he said. Eswaraprasad added that the ABVP has submitted formal complaints to the state Education Minister and the Director of NCERT, demanding strict action against the officials responsible.
“We will continue to resist any attempt to politicise academic materials and distort history,” he said. The controversy has triggered sharp reactions, with ABVP vowing to launch protests if corrective steps are not taken immediately.
-IANS
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A dramatic scene unfolded at a Naam Thamizhar Katchi (NTK) public meeting in Senji, Villupuram district, on Sunday when the party’s chief coordinator Seeman abruptly walked off the stage, sparking confusion among supporters and onlookers.
The meeting had been organised by NTK to protest against UNESCO’s recognition of Senji Fort, a historic landmark. Party members argued that the fort was being attributed to the Marathas, which they claimed amounted to the erasure of Tamil history and heritage.
Addressing a large gathering, Seeman spoke strongly against what he described as a “distortion” of Tamil identity in historical narratives. The situation, however, took a chaotic turn when local journalists approached Seeman for comments while he was on stage. NTK’s security personnel reportedly tried to block the media from reaching him, leading to an altercation.
Witnesses said the scuffle created tension in the crowd, drawing the attention of police officers who were present at the venue to oversee security arrangements. Believing that a clash had erupted between police and his own security team, Seeman appeared visibly alarmed.
In a sudden move, he rushed off the stage, leaving the gathering stunned. His hurried exit triggered a commotion among party members and supporters, who scrambled to understand the situation. When questioned later, NTK functionaries sought to downplay the incident.
They explained that Seeman had misunderstood the scene as a potential confrontation between police and NTK personnel. The dramatic walkout overshadowed the purpose of the meeting, which had been called to highlight NTK’s opposition to the official narrative of Senji Fort’s origins.
The party has long maintained that the historic fort stands as a symbol of Tamil pride, and attributing its construction to the Marathas undermines the region’s heritage. Despite the disruption, NTK leaders vowed to continue their campaign against what they call attempts to “rewrite Tamil history”.
The incident, however, has once again underlined the volatile atmosphere surrounding Tamil identity politics in the state.
-IANS
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will begin his two-day visit to India on Monday, where he will hold crucial bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar.
However, the Chinese Foreign Minister’s visit also assumes significance in view of increasing tensions in India-US relations following President Donald Trump doubling tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent, which included an additional penalty of 25 per cent for purchasing Russian oil. India and China are expected to discuss new confidence-building measures for durable peace and tranquillity along their contested border during Wang Yi’s visit, which comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s China trip later this month.
The Chinese Foreign Minister’s visit is largely seen as part of ongoing efforts by the two neighbours to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020. Wang Yi will be in India primarily to hold a fresh round of Special Representatives (SR) dialogue on the boundary question with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Wang and Doval are the designated special representatives for the boundary talks.
The Chinese Foreign Minister will arrive in New Delhi at around 4:15 p.m. on Monday. At 6 p.m., he will meet EAM Jaishankar for bilateral discussions. On Tuesday morning, Wang Yi is scheduled to hold a new round of the Special Representatives (SR) dialogue with NSA Doval at 11 a.m.
The meetings could see both sides deliberate on a range of key issues, including the border situation, trade and resumption of flight services. The Chinese Minister will then call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence, 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The meeting assumes significance as it is taking place days before PM Modi’s planned trip to China to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Though the two sides disengaged troops from the friction points, they are yet to de-escalate the situation by pulling back the frontline forces from the border. Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh region. As per the plan, Prime Minister Modi will visit Japan around August 29 and then travel to the northern Chinese city of Tianjin for the SCO summit.
NSA Doval travelled to China in December last year and held the SR talks with Wang Yi, weeks after Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to revive various dialogue mechanisms between the two sides at a meeting in the Russian city of Kazan. The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020 and the clashes at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in bilateral ties.
The decision to revive various dialogue mechanisms was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi in Kazan on October 23, 2024. The two sides also initiated several initiatives to rebuild ties, including the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and New Delhi restarting the issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals.
Both sides are also discussing modalities to resume direct flight services between the two countries. The flight services between the two sides were suspended following the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. It was not restored in view of the border row. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and EAM Jaishankar visited China in the last two months to attend the SCO meetings.
-IANS
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US President Donald Trump has said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could chose to end the war with Russia “almost immediately” or “he can continue to fight”.
“President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump said on Sunday on his Truth Social platform.
“No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!)…and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!” On the eve of highly consequential talks with Zelensky and a large delegation of European leaders, President Trump has previewed the message he will deliver to his White House visitors: Zelensky must agree to some of Russia’s conditions for the war in Ukraine to end. The post underscored the pressure Zelensky will face on Monday as Trump works to end the conflict.
The two conditions he listed — that Ukraine cede Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, and that it agree never to join NATO — are among the conditions Russian President Vladimir Putin has set for ending the war. European leaders visiting the White House with Zelensky on Monday are concerned the meeting will amount to Trump pressuring the Ukrainian leader to accept the conditions Putin put forward in their Alaska summit last week. They hope to glean more information from Trump on what Russia might concede as part of a peace deal, including what role the US would play in providing security guarantees going forward.
“Big day at the White House tomorrow. Never had so many European Leaders at one time. My great honour to host them!!!” Trump posted after his message to Zelensky. The European delegation: French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Finland President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will all join Zelensky for the visit to the White House on Monday.
Trump met Putin in Alaska on Friday but the talks failed to yield any breakthrough on a ceasefire — though White House envoy Steve Witkoff said both leaders had agreed to provide “robust security guarantees” to Ukraine. European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed the news, but Zelensky, speaking alongside her at a news conference in Brussels, rejected the idea of Russia offering his country security guarantees.
“What President Trump said about security guarantees is much more important to me than Putin’s thoughts, because Putin will not give any security guarantees,” he said. Zelensky later said on social media that the US offer regarding security guarantees was “historic”.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who will take part in the Washington meeting along with von der Leyen and others, said European leaders would ask about the extent of the security guarantees offered to Ukraine in any peace agreement.
Of Moscow’s position, he said: “There is only one state proposing a peace that would be a capitulation: Russia.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called that an “abject lie” in a statement on Telegram later on Sunday. Moscow had been proposing a “peaceful resolution” of the conflict for seven years under the terms of the Minsk Accords, she said. Macron, she added, was trying to convince Ukraine that it could win on the battlefield even when he knew that that was “impossible”.
Trump, who pivoted after the Alaska meeting to say he was now seeking a peace deal rather than a ceasefire, on Sunday posted “BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED!” on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating. Trump’s sudden focus on a peace deal aligns with the stance long taken by Putin, one which Ukraine and its European allies have criticised as Putin’s way to buy time while trying to make battlefield gains.
Zelensky also said he saw “no sign” the Kremlin leader was prepared to meet him and Trump for a three-way summit, as had been floated by the US President. The leaders heading to Washington on Monday to appear alongside Zelensky call themselves the “coalition of the willing”.
On Sunday, all the European leaders held a video meeting to prepare their joint position. Speaking to US broadcaster CNN, Witkoff said: “I’m hopeful that we have a productive meeting on Monday, we get to real consensus, we’re able to come back to the Russians and push this peace deal forward and get it done.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to NBC on Sunday, warned of “consequences” — including the potential imposition of new sanctions on Russia — if no peace deal was reached on Ukraine.
European leaders have expressed unease from the outset over Trump’s outreach to Putin, who has demanded Ukraine abandon its ambitions to join the EU or NATO. They were excluded from Trump’s summit with Putin. Witkoff, in his CNN interview, said the process of offering “game-changing” security guarantees would involve territorial “concessions”. According to an official briefed on a call Trump held with Zelensky and European leaders as he flew back from Alaska, the US leader supported a Putin proposal that Russia take full control of two eastern Ukrainian regions in exchange for freezing the frontline in two others.
Putin “de facto demands that Ukraine leave Donbas”, an area consisting of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine, which Russia currently only partly controls, the source said. In exchange, Russian forces would halt their offensive in the Black Sea port region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, where the main cities are still under Ukrainian control.
Several months into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia in September 2022 claimed to have annexed all four Ukrainian regions even though its troops still do not fully control any of them. On the ground in Ukraine, the conflict rages on, with both Kyiv and Moscow launching attack drones. Ukrainian authorities reported early Monday that 13 people were wounded in Russian strikes on Kharkiv and the Sumy region.
-IANS
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The controversy surrounding allegations of “mass burials” of women and minor girls at the Lord Manjunatha shrine in Dharmasthala has taken a dramatic turn after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Karnataka government failed to recover any remains supporting the claims.
The case originated on 3 June 2025, when an unidentified complainant, who appeared in public fully covered to conceal his identity and came to be known as the “masked man,” claimed to be a former sanitation worker at the shrine. He alleged that he had been forced to bury large numbers of women and minor girls between 1995 and 2014, who were allegedly raped and murdered. He submitted skeletal remains in court which he claimed to have exhumed from one of the sites and later testified before a court in the same concealed manner.
Following his complaint, another woman lodged a case stating that her daughter had gone missing during a trip to Dharmasthala.
Given the seriousness of the charges, the state government formed an SIT on 19 July 2025 to investigate. The “masked man” pointed investigators to 13 alleged burial sites. Excavations were carried out at 17 sites in total, but the case began unraveling as the SIT found no evidence of mass burials.
At one location, bone fragments recovered were determined by forensic experts to belong to a male. At another site, identity cards recovered belonged to a man who reportedly died of illness. The skull handed over to the court by the complainant was tested in two hospitals, both confirming it was that of a male who died about 30 years ago.
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) was later deployed at the request of the complainant. At site number 13, where he had claimed 60–100 bodies were buried at a depth of 16 feet, the radar showed no anomalies and excavation produced no findings.
During digging at site number 11, the complainant abruptly claimed that the actual burial spot was about 150 metres away. At that new location, investigators recovered 81 bones lying on the surface rather than buried. Experts said these too appeared to be from a male. Male clothing and a red saree were found, along with indications that the site may have been connected to a suicide. Excavation there also yielded nothing further.
As the SIT continued to find no corroboration, officials announced they would not excavate every site identified by the “masked man,” but would check a few more, including a location flagged by another complainant who claimed to have witnessed the burial of a 13-year-old girl.
So far, the SIT has registered cases of unnatural death in connection with skeletal remains recovered at two sites and is also investigating the missing girl complaint filed by the mother of Ananya Bhat.
The collapse of the allegations has sparked political confrontation. Devotees staged protests demanding action against those who spread what they called false charges to defame the temple. The state government has assured action against what it described as propaganda.
Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar stated that the ongoing investigation would expose what he termed a conspiracy to tarnish the temple’s reputation. He added that strict action would follow if the “mass burial” charges were proven false. Shivakumar accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of politicising the case, saying the party had not spoken when the allegations first surfaced but had later attempted to gain political mileage. He remarked that the BJP acted as though “Hinduism is their private property” and suggested the party was exploiting Dharmasthala for political ends.
The BJP staged a rally on Saturday at the temple, demanding punishment for those behind the allegations. Party leader S. R. Vishwanath said the BJP had initially refrained from commenting because it believed there could have been some truth in the charges. He said the party decided to intervene once excavations disproved claims of mass burials and pledged support to Dharmasthala against what he called false propaganda.
Meanwhile, the “masked man” remains under witness protection. In an interview with India Today, he maintained his allegations, claiming that natural causes or infrastructure activity could have displaced bodies, explaining why excavations yielded nothing.
The moment the first look dropped, you could smell what was coming — Cooliewas bound to be another glossy, overhyped dud in Rajinikanth’s post-Kabali streak of mediocrity. Rajini fanboys went into a frenzy, flooding timelines with edits and posters, while on the other hand, Lokesh Kanagaraj’s name was tossed around like a magic seal of genius who is making a time travel film part of a meta pan-Indian cinematic universe and what not. But to be frank, Loki is no better than Atlee. Both of them have the skills to elevate a mass hero using their already existing star status.
In my view, Lokesh Kanagaraj has delivered only one truly terrific film — Maanagaram. And that too we’re beginning to wonder if it was really and solely his effort or was it someone else’s because he has not been able to recreate the same magic.
Cinephiles know that Kaithi is just a Tamil rehash of Assault on Precinct 13 that ended up as average at best. And everything that followed — Master, Vikram, Leo — were not just mediocre but simply bad films. Yes, you read that right. Master was nothing but a brainrot version of Kamal’s Nammavar. A History of Violence was butchered and messed up into Leo. Vikram is nothing more than a celluloid on cocaine rush. Once the frenzy wears off, you see it for what it is: just another overhyped star vehicle under Red Giant banner, one that conveniently chauffeured Kamal Haasan straight to the Rajya Sabha. If not for Anirudh’s adrenaline pumping music, all of them would’ve gone down the Cooum.
So, given the track-record of Rajini since 2016 and Loki’s underwhelming filmography, I had the least expectations from Coolie. Rajini is not the Rajini of his heydays. Lokesh is not the best director in K town. So, I wasn’t expecting a cinematic feast.
But is it too much to ask for these so-called best of the best to serve a simple Sambhar Saadham atleast?
As the saying goes, too many cooks spoil the broth. And that’s exactly what happened with Coolie. The promotions and hype packaged it as a grand pan-India spectacle bursting with big names — the cinematic equivalent of walking into a swanky, overhyped five-star restaurant, ordering their “signature spicy special” expecting an explosion of flavours… only to be served a cold, watery donkey’s diarrhea that the waiter — and Rajini fanatics — insist is gourmet.
Let’s call Coolie for what it really is – a hollow spectacle, shallow in substance, a mere façade of a film to launder the ill-gotten wealth of those in power.
But let’s not go there. Let’s stick to the film that has been presented to us. Even as a mass commercial entertainer, it raises more questions than it answers. This isn’t “mass” cinema. This is a shoddy, insincere, stitched-together patchwork of lazy writing, tied together by Rajini’s star persona which now feels more like a crutch than a strength.
Here’s what I want to ask the Rajini fans gushing about Coolie — acting like a Sun Pictures sleeper cell on a mission to brand it a “super duper hit”:
1. If for major part of the film, Rajini is someone who owns a mansion, he’s not a Coolie. He’s a mansion-owner, a businessman. Title e gaali!
2. Why hype up a luxury watch smuggling plot in the first place if you’re going to abandon it completely?
3. There’s another subplot of human organ trafficking and that’s also abandoned. Why even think of subplot when your main plot itself is dangling in the air?
4. How on earth does Sathyaraj jump from being a harbour coolie 30 years ago to suddenly becoming a ‘scientist-inventor’ who creates an electric chair for disposing bodies?
5. If Nagarjuna’s gang can kill people openly in front of thousands, why the hell do they need a secret cremation chair? Since, their business is in the port, wouldn’t the simpler thing to do have been to tie a rock to the body and drop it to the sea for fishes to eat?
6. Why on earth does Aamir Khan randomly start shooting people at the end? Wait, why does Aamir Khan even exist in this film?Matlab! Kuchi Bhi!
This is exactly why Aamir should actually read scripts before saying yes. Just because Rajini is in a film doesn’t mean that a serious filmmaker of his stature should stoop to committing to crap masquerading as cinema.
7. Sathyaraj gets killed by Soubin, who’s revealed as undercover police. Rajini, decides the logical thing to do is… continue burning bodies in chair with Shruti Haasan.
8. Rajini is brother-in-law of Satyaraj. Satyaraj disapproves of Rajni’s drinking habits. Rajini enforces a no-drinking rule in his mansion. Since Satyaraj is killed, Rajini takes this as a symbolic “permission” to drink Powerhouse again? Enna karumam da idhu!
9. Why is Rajini hiding coolies like Pokémon in a mansion?
10. How was Soubin caught by Nagarjuna as an undercover cop? How a Coolie like Rajini was so powerful? What’s the need to show Rajini cutting mutton in the beginning? How can a son of a smuggler and criminal become a customs official? Wouldn’t IRS not conduct a background check? We can keep going on and on but mudila!
Fine. You want to blow your money on a worthless script — your money, your choice, your stars. But why on earth drag a masterpiece like Breaking Bad into your trash fire? From ripping off the ‘I’m the Danger’ phrase, to shoving in the ‘Say My Name, You’re Goddamn Right’ line in Powerhouse song, to showing Mahesh Manjrekar like Hector Salamanca—except written by a Sun TV serial writer. This crime can never be forgiven. I think Vince Gilligan should sue everybody – Lokesh, Rajini, Sun Pictures for not just copyright infringement but for trampling his stellar work in the name of ‘inspiration’.
Now for the larger questions:
1. Considering you’ve locked Rajini into doing X number of films for you as part of a ‘deal’, and you claim you want to deliver Kollywood’s first ₹1000-crore blockbuster, who at Sun Pictures looked at this donkey’s diarrhea of a script and thought, ‘Yes, we hit the jackpot’.
2. In the pre-release interviews, Lokesh is described as a master story teller who is fabulous at narration. What did he narrate? How did he narrate? What story did he narrate?
3. For how long and how many more directors will keep milking Rajini’s stardom—rehashing stale nostalgia in songs and scenes, and dressing up a lazily written, poorly made fan-service vehicle as a ‘Superstar miracle’ for the blinded brigade to hail?
4. And how long will Rajini fans keep propping up every mediocre mess their demigod churns out—glorifying it as a ‘pure Rajini film’ or hailing it as some grand ‘Thalaivar Sambavam’?
And to the Rajini fans who’ll come charging at me for saying this—calm down. You can scream ‘Look at his style, bro! Look at his laugh, bro! Look at his mass, bro! The man is still mesmerizing at this age bro’ all you want, but don’t expect every average moviegoer to chant along when the film itself is trash. We’ll happily cheer all that if he at least stars in a halfway decent commercial entertainer. I’m not even asking your Thalaivar to give us another Baasha. Just give us something like Sivaji, Chandramukhi… hell, I’d even settle for a Lingaa.
Final Thoughts
Telugu cinema gave the world RRR, a global sensation. Pushpa and Baahubali organically became pan-India blockbusters. Kannada cinema stunned with KGF, Kantara, and now Hombale is creating a cinematic universe with Vishnu’s Dashavataram with the animated film Mahavataram Narasimha becoming a runaway hit and doing big business across India.
And what does Tamil cinema have to show? An endless parade of zombies screaming “Rajini, Rajini, Rajini” or “Vijay, Vijay, Vijay,”.
The harsh truth is this: Tamil cinema, once a trailblazer of pan-India hits, has not been able to produce even one oflate because its biggest stars and directors are trapped in the cycle of churning out mindless fan-service for Rajini, Kamal, Vijay, or Ajith, instead of daring to create stories with vision and universal appeal.
The industry keeps feeding this cult of stardom, and the zombies keep lapping up every bit of garbage as long as it has their idol’s sticker on it. The moment someone points out the rot, it’s instantly brushed off as ‘hate’ or rival fan noise. And so Tamil cinema stays stuck in this toxic loop—stars too scared to take risks, fans too blind to accept flaws—while other film industries march ahead with stories that are conquering the world.
Kaushik is a writer and filmbuff.
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The DMK has long projected itself as a progressive force claiming to have “broken the shackles of patriarchy” under the guidance of its ideological forefather, E.V. Ramasamy Naicker. However, the reality appears far from this self-congratulatory narrative. Practices like bigamy and polygamy continue to thrive within the party’s ranks a glaring contradiction to their rhetoric of women’s liberation.
A prime example is senior leader, party treasurer and DMK MP TR Baalu. Baalu is married to both Renuka Devi, his long-time partner, and Porkodi, his niece. Together, they have five children three sons and two daughters.
The issue of Baalu’s dual marriages came under public scrutiny as far back as 2004, during his candidacy for the South Chennai Lok Sabha constituency. S. Purushothaman, an independent candidate, filed a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging that Baalu had violated provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act and the Indian Penal Code by listing two spouses T.R.B. Porkodi and B.R. Renukadevi in his election affidavit. He demanded Baalu’s disqualification. During scrutiny, Karate Thiagarajan, then Chennai’s Deputy Mayor and AIADMK member, also objected to Baalu’s nomination based on this revelation. Yet, the returning officer dismissed the objections and cleared Baalu’s candidature.
Despite the controversy, Baalu has consistently listed both wives in his election affidavits across multiple years, including 2009 and 2024. His financial disclosures not only confirm the existence of two spouses but also detail shared ownership of assets, including:
In 2009, he declared assets worth ₹7.69 crore, distributed among himself and both wives. In 2014, he declared 20.15 Crores.
By 2024, the declared assets had risen to ₹17.40 crore, including movable assets worth ₹1.08 crore and immovable property valued at ₹16.31 crore. His 2024 affidavit showed his asserts with both his wives.
While government employees and even local body election candidates are disqualified for minor technicalities, a sitting MP who openly practices bigamy faces no consequence. The DMK continues to uphold its “rationalist” image, loudly praising EVR’s legacy for liberating women, yet permits and even promotes leaders who violate basic tenets of gender justice.
Baalu, now 82 and DMK MP from Sriperumbudur, remains one of DMK’s most senior and influential figures. The party has never addressed the contradiction between its stated ideology and the personal lives of its top brass a silence that exposes the hollowness of its commitment to women’s equality.
In truth, the DMK’s glorification of EVR’s social reforms rings hollow when its own senior-most leaders live in open contradiction to those very ideals. The gap between ideology and practice is no longer a crack – it’s a chasm.
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In a rare step, the Supreme Court has overturned the results of a Gram Panchayat election in Haryana after summoning Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to itself and directing a recount of votes by its Registrar.
Upon recounting, the ‘defeated’ candidate, Mohit Kumar, was found to have polled 51 more votes than Kuldeep Singh, who had been declared elected earlier. Directing immediate corrective action, the Bench ordered the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Election Officer, Panipat, to issue a notification within two days declaring Kumar as the elected Sarpanch of Buana Lakhu village.
“The petitioner shall be entitled to assume the said office forthwith and perform his duties,” the Court said.
Court Accepts Registrar’s Report
The Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and N Kotiswar Singh relied on the recount conducted under court supervision.
“…there being prima facie no reason to doubt the Report submitted by the OSD (Registrar) of this Court, especially when the entire recounting has been duly videographed and its result is signed by the representatives of the parties, we are satisfied that the appellant deserves to be declared as the elected Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat, Buana Lakhu Village, District Panipat, Haryana in the election held on 22.11.2022,” the judges said.
During the hearing, Justice Kant clarified that the earlier declared candidate, Kuldeep Singh, was not responsible for the wrong result. “All this blunder happened in only 1 booth…complete mess created by Returning Officer/the Counting Officer, it is he who committed a blunder…in these kind of matters, the only solution is, you go for recount…never thought that High Court will write 15 pages to deny recount!” the judge observed.
From Village to Supreme Court
The election was held in November 2022. Initially, Kuldeep Singh was declared elected. On the same day, however, the Returning Officer ordered a recount after spotting an error in the result prepared at one booth. Following this correction, Mohit Kumar was declared the winner.
Kuldeep Singh then approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which set aside Kumar’s election, holding that results once declared cannot be altered by a suo motu recount. The High Court restored Singh as Sarpanch and said that the proper course was to file an election petition.
Mohit Kumar subsequently filed such a petition, which Singh contested on the ground of limitation. The matter ultimately reached the Supreme Court, which rejected Singh’s objection and directed the Election Tribunal to decide the case within four months.
In April 2024, the Tribunal found grounds to recount votes at Booth No. 69, but its order was again set aside by the High Court on Singh’s appeal. Kumar then approached the Supreme Court once more.
Recount Under SC’s Watch
In July, the apex court ordered that all EVMs be produced before a nominated Registrar, who was tasked with recounting votes from all five booths under videography and in the presence of party representatives.
The Registrar’s report, submitted on August 6, showed Mohit Kumar ahead by 51 votes. Accepting the findings, the Supreme Court on August 11 reversed the High Court order and declared Kumar the duly elected Sarpanch.
Subject to Tribunal’s Final Judgment
The Bench, however, clarified that while the aspect of recounting was now settled, other issues raised by Singh could still be agitated before the Election Tribunal.
It made clear that “on the aspect of recounting of votes, the Tribunal shall accept the report of the Supreme Court’s Registrar as final and conclusive.” Kumar’s declaration as Sarpanch, the judges said, would remain subject to the Tribunal’s final decision.
Statement By Winner
The winner Mohit Kumar, speaking to news personnel said, “EVMs are not at fault, if any miscount happens, it is likely due to the greed of the counting officer. Otherwise, it is not likely to happen.”
क्या बड़े पैमाने पर होती हैं EVM में गड़बड़ियां?
◆ सुनिए पानीपत से सरपंच चुनाव में नतीजा पलटकर जीतने वाले प्रत्याशी मोहित कुमार का जवाब
BJP leader K. Annamalai has launched a sharp attack on the ruling DMK, accusing the party of consistently shielding and empowering anti-social elements for political and financial gain. According to Annamalai, the DMK has a long-standing pattern of recruiting individuals with criminal backgrounds, rewarding them with positions of influence, and turning a blind eye to their escalating misconduct as long as they continue to deliver money or political advantage.
The BJP leader’s criticism comes in the wake of a fresh controversy involving Rajan, the joint secretary of DMK’s Nagercoil city unit. Widely known among locals as “Kozhi Rajan” or “Dhadiyan Rajan,” he was recently caught on camera when his wife who studied at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, virtue-signalled by refusing to take the degree certificate from Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. However, Annamalai and others allege the performance was nothing more than a political smokescreen an attempt to divert attention from a string of serious criminal allegations that have trailed her husband and DMK functionary Rajan for years.
Locals in Nagercoil have long accused Rajan of misappropriating approximately ₹1.5 crore allocated by the Tamil Nadu government for renovation works at the historic St. Xavier’s Church. They claim the funds were used to purchase assets including properties and an Innova car under his wife’s name. Yet, repeated attempts to obtain transparency via RTI queries have been stonewalled. Even a formal complaint lodged with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption has reportedly gone nowhere.
Residents of Bharathar South village in Kottar have also submitted complaints to both the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police, accusing Rajan of issuing death threats to dissenters and creating a public nuisance near schools while intoxicated disturbing students and intimidating locals. Despite this, no legal action has been taken against him, which Annamalai attributes solely to Rajan’s political affiliation with the DMK.
Taking to his official X account, Annamalai wrote, “The history of the DMK party is one of seeking out individuals involved in petty crimes, giving them positions of power, and then turning a blind eye when they commit more serious offenses by solely focusing on the income they generate. Due to this only the ordinary public suffers. Just two days ago, a man named Rajan, the joint secretary of the Nagercoil DMK unit, was caught on camera creating a scene at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, feigning criticism of the Governor. This same individual was known to the people of Nagercoil as “Kozhi Rajan” or “Dhadiyan Rajan” for many years and has a long history of criminal allegations against him. The people of Nagercoil have complained that this “Kozhi Rajan” embezzled about 1.5 crore rupees allocated by the government to the famous St. Xavier’s Church in Nagercoil and claimed he used the money to acquire several properties and an Innova car in his wife’s name. When questioned about the funds through the Right to Information Act, authorities refused to answer. Even when a complaint filed against him with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption also appears to have been shelved. In addition to this, the residents of Kottar’s Bharathar South village in Nagercoil have already filed complaints with the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police regarding “Kozhi Rajan’s” actions, which include threatening to kill opposers and causing disturbance near schools while drunk, bothering students. However, the DMK government has not taken any action against “Kozhi Rajan” to date. The only reason for this is that he belongs to the DMK. It is believed that “Kozhi Rajan” staged the scene at the university to divert attention from the public’s complaints against him. The Tamil Nadu government allocated ₹2.28 crore for the renovation of St. Xavier’s Church in Kottar and has already released ₹1.14 crore in the first phase. Why do they refuse to make the accounts of these funds public? Why is the district police hesitant to take action against “Kozhi Rajan,” who continues to threaten the public? The public will soon teach a lesson to the DMK that continues to protect, empower, and promote anti-social elements.”
சிறு குற்றங்களில் ஈடுபடும் நபர்களைத் தேடிப் பிடித்து, அவர்களுக்குப் பதவி கொடுத்து அழகு பார்த்து, அவர்கள் பெரிய குற்றங்களில் ஈடுபடும்போதும் கண்டுகொள்ளாமல், அவர்கள் மூலம் வரும் வருமானத்தில் மட்டுமே குறியாக இருப்பது திமுக கட்சியின் வரலாறு. இதனால் பாதிக்கப்படுவது, சாதாரண பொதுமக்களே.… pic.twitter.com/vFC9ekRT74
Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin said that they made progress in three hours of talks on Friday, moving closer to finding an end to the Ukraine War, but did not announce an immediate ceasefire.
“It’s not a done deal at all”, he told a Fox News interviewer after Friday’s summit in Alaska. “And Ukraine has to agree. President (Volodymyr) Zelensky has to agree.” “We had a very good meeting today, and I think a lot of points were negotiated on behalf of Ukraine”, he said.
Before the summit, he said that he would not be negotiating on behalf of Ukraine and that the meeting was a sounding board aimed at facilitating a direct meeting between Presidents Putin and Zelensky.
“Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done”, President Trump said of a peace deal. “We have a pretty good chance of getting it done”, he added. “They’re going to set up a meeting now, between President Zelensky and President Putin and myself, I guess”, he said.
President Trump had said that he could call an immediate meeting between Presidents Putin and Zelensky if the discussion went his way. At the end of the news conference, he told Putin, “We’ll speak to you very soon, and probably see you again very soon”. President Putin chirped up, “Next time in Moscow.”
President Trump saying that “it’s not a done deal” amounted to an admission that he did not get the immediate ceasefire he had insisted on. At the same time, the fact that he had not terminated the negotiations within minutes and walked away, as he had threatened earlier, could be a sign of a breakthrough.
Nor did he announce the “very severe consequences” he had threatened if Putin did not agree to peace. At the news conference after their talks concluded, Putin was upbeat.
“I would like to hope that the agreement that we’ve reached together will help us bring closer that goal (of finding a solution) and will pave the path towards peace in Ukraine”, he said. “I have every reason to believe that, moving along this path, we can reach the end of the conflict in Ukraine sooner rather than later”, he added. “I believe we had a very productive meeting”, Trump said.
“There were many, many points that we agreed on.” President Trump said cryptically there were “a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some headway”. “One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there. We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there”, he added.
Fox News interviewer Sean Hannity pressed President Trump about the differences they had. He said that he would rather not talk about it, but added, “I guess somebody is going to go public with it. They’ll figure it out. But no, I don’t want to do that. I want to see if we can get it done.” The main points of difference going into the talks were: Land swap or re-drawing of borders that would give Russia some Ukrainian territories, and a security guarantee from Europeans and the US for Ukraine. Trump has spoken of a land swap, which would be politically hard for Zelensky.
British Defence Secretary said on Friday that the United Kingdom and its allies are ready to put troops in Ukraine to guarantee its security if there is a ceasefire. Trump also spoke in support of troops to guarantee security but ruled out their going under the NATO banner.
Putin may have conceded the security guarantee issue as he said, “Naturally, the security of Ukraine should be true. Naturally we’re prepared to overcome that.” Trump said that he would be calling his Western allies and Zelensky to brief them on the summit. He will have to convince the Europeans and Zelensky, who were sceptical about the summit but were willing to give it a chance that there had been progress.
The summit was truncated and only one of the planned phases – a meeting with key officials, Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — was held. Instead of the first phase, a private meeting between them, Trump and Putin spoke directly as they walked down the red carpet and continued the conversation in Trump’s limousine.
They started the talks with officials and called off the planned third phase, which was to have been a luncheon with more officials, especially those dealing with trade and investment. Putin had said he wanted to expand the talks to include Nuclear arms control, and Ushakov suggested trade and economic cooperation. Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Special Presidential Representative for Investment Kirill Dmitriev, and US Secretaries Pete Hegseth of Defence, Scott Bessent of Treasury, and Howard Lutnick of Commerce were on standby.
The third phase in which the topics were expected to be discussed, did not take place. At the news conference, Putin made he pitch for trade, which now pre-occupies Trump “It is clear that the US and Russian investment and business cooperation has tremendous potential”, he said. “Russia and the US can offer each other so much in trade, digital and high tech, and in space exploration”, he said.
“Today’s agreements will be the starting point, not only for the solution of the Ukrainian issue, but also will help us bring back business-like and pragmatic relations between Russia and US”, Putin said. He asserted that trade between the US and Russia had grown 20 per cent under Trump, who has threatend to penalise India with a 25 per cent tariff for buying oil from Russia.
The summit began with a choreographed welcome as the US Air Force 1 and Russia’s presidential aircraft landed almost simultaneously. Trump clapped as Putin walked toward him on the red carpet. They smiled and shook hands as four F-35s and a B-2 Spirit bomber flew overhead.
-IANS
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