Back against the wall
With a few months left for LS polls, posters of KN Arun Nehru, son of DMK leader KN Nehru, have come up in Tiruchy portraying him as ‘MP of Tiruchy’. Sources said Congress cadre are worried if DMK will field a candidate on their own as the latter has been tight-lipped over the matter. A senior DMK leader said the posters were placed by party supporters out of their affection for Arun. This comes at a time of infighting in Congress as MP Thirunavukkarasar has been criticised by party leaders for selecting a district president close to him and lacking experience. Though the party has managed to diffuse the situation, it is no secret that all is not well within the grand old party in Tiruchy.
Hush, hush!
A day after the DMK youth wing conference concluded on January 21, minister Udhayanidhi Stalin appreciated the functionaries from Salem who worked hard for the success of the event by allegedly giving each a gold ring. It was done in a hushed manner as no reporters were invited to this. The functionaries were even reluctant to talk about it. Even now, the exact value of gifts awarded to functionaries remains a secret.
All in the game
Chief Minister MK Stalin unveiled the newly constructed jallikattu arena at Alanganallur on January 24. In order to fill up the entire auditorium for the function, DMK functionaries were asked to bring people from their respective areas. Each person ready to come for the inauguration was given Rs 300 and taken to the arena at 7 am. They were made to sit under the scorching sun and many among them were not even given breakfast. Women had a tough time as toilets at the venue did not have water.
Mistaken identity
A week has passed since the alleged presence of a leopard at JJ Nagar and Archana Nagar in Kuniyamuthur, which gave residents sleepless nights and headache for forest officials. Without any proof, the representative of an NGO had wrongly informed the media about leopard movement near JJ Nagar where his house is located. “For the last seven days, we have been fixing camera traps. We only captured images of stray dogs and horses,” said a forest department official in Coimbatore forest division.
Encroachers rule
During one of the area sabha meetings conducted by the Chennai Corporation, a zonal chairman told that encroachments remain a major obstacle for any new projects. “Higher officials are saying that no new and big projects can be undertaken without clearing encroachments. We also face stiff resistance from the encroachers as some even go to the court and the projects get stalled indefinitely,” the chairman told the meeting.
Gunning for safety
In the wake of the attack on a journalist at Palladam, reporters from several parts of district staged a protest in front of Tiruppur district collectorate. Many also went to the office of Tiruppur SP P Saminathan, demanding immediate arrest of the culprits. Meanwhile, a section of reporters protesting in Dharapuram sought free gun with license for the safety of reporters.
In agreement
It will be interesting to see who will be the DMK Lok Sabha candidate for Vellore as one MLA has thrown his weight behind the mayor and the other is backing Arakkonam MP Jagadraksakan. However, one thing that both of them agree on is not wanting MP Kathir Anand to get another term. They are steadfast in their conviction that he won’t be the chosen candidate for Vellore in the upcoming polls.
(Contributed by P Srinivasan, Jeyalakshmi Ramanujam, S Senthil Kumar, Saravanan MP, Mohan, Rajalakshmi Sampath; complied by Affan Abdul Kadar)