Will seek more seats to contest, but at the right time: VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan
TIRUCHY: Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) president Thol Thirumavalavan on Friday said his party will demand more seats to contest in 2026 elections as part of the DMK-led alliance, but clarified that alliance harmony will be prioritised over individual gains.
'We have expectations and will ask for more seats in all elections. But alliance interest is more important than the party's interest. Decisions will be taken at the right time through talks. Though we believe in power sharing, upcoming election is not the apt time for it,' Thirumavalavan told reporters in Tiruchy.
He was speaking ahead of the party's 'Save secularism' rally scheduled on Saturday.
Thirumavalavan criticised the BJP for politicising religion, pointing to the Murugan Maanadu. 'Instead of addressing real issues like social justice and Dalit rights, the BJP is trying to divert attention by holding religious events like the Murugan Maanadu for political mileage,' he said.
On BJP's claims of winning 2026 election, he said, 'It's a political illusion. Amit Shah couldn't get PMK or DMDK leaders to meet him – the alliance isn't whole.' He concluded that while corruption is serious, caste and religious extremism pose a bigger threat.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
39 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
PMK leader Anbumani slams Centre over EWS reservation
CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Saturday criticised the union government for granting 10% reservation to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) among forward castes, despite their (forward castes) total population in India being just 7% and only 0.5% of them falling under the EWS category. Calling it a grave injustice to backward communities, he urged the Tamil Nadu government to immediately conduct a caste-based census to facilitate the restoration of the 10.5% internal reservation for the Vanniyar community. Speaking at the centenary celebrations of yesteryear leader V Aanaimuthu, who fought for social justice, Anbumani recalled the veteran's tireless efforts in securing 27% reservation for backwards classes across India. He announced that PMK would install a statue of Aanaimuthu to honour his contribution to social justice. Training his guns on the ruling DMK, Anbumani alleged that backward communities were being used merely as a vote bank. 'Despite meeting the chief minister (M K Stalin) five times over the past four years and seeking 10.5% internal reservation for Vanniyars, the government has failed to take any concrete steps in this regard,' he said. He accused the DMK's legal team of mishandling the case, leading to the court striking down the quota. While the 10% quota for EWS continues, a similar internal reservation for Vanniyars was quashed, he pointed out. Anbumani also criticised CM Stalin's claim that the state lacks powers to conduct a caste census, calling it 'a blatant lie'. 'If Karnataka, Bihar, and Odisha could carry it out using state powers, why not Tamil Nadu?' he questioned. The PMK would soon launch a massive protest demanding a caste census in Tamil Nadu, he warned, adding that proper data are crucial to ensure education and employment opportunities reach the most deprived communities.
New Indian Express
39 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Amit Shah's remarks on use of English language just his opinion, says Palaniswami
COIMBATORE: After Union Home Minister Amit Shah said a time will come soon when those speaking English in the country would 'feel ashamed', AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said that was just Shah's opinion. 'His remarks were on the basis that people are giving importance to English instead of their mother tongue, and that mother tongue is important for each of them,' Palaniswami said. Addressing media persons at the Coimbatore International Airport on Saturday, he said, 'The people of Tamil Nadu will punish the DMK in the 2026 Assembly election. We have already condemned the DMK minister and DMK functionaries for their abusive speech. DMK functionaries have a habit of spreading abusive messages during public meetings, and on their social media handles,' said Palaniswmi. Further, he said former minister and AIADMK deputy propaganda secretary K Pandirajan had clearly explained about what the AIADMK government did about the Keezhadi excavation when J Jayalalithaa was the chief minister, and after her death. Palaniswami also extended his greetings to Hindu Munnani, organisers of the Lord Murugan conference at Madurai. 'It is a democratic right for an organisation to worship gods that are dear to them, and based on that right, an organisation is holding a religious conference.' Speaking about International Yoga Day, he said 'Yoga is important for physical and mental wellbeing, and I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for organising the event.'
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Highest in recent years, UP House sees six MLAs disqualified: 3 each from NDA, SP
Earlier this month, Uttar Pradesh MLA Abbas Ansari was disqualified from the state Assembly after he was convicted to two years of imprisonment in a three-year-old hate speech case. Abbas, son of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari who died in Banda jail last year, was the Mau Sadar MLA of the Om Prakash Rajbhar-led Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which was earlier allied with the Samajwadi Party (SP) but is now in the ruling BJP-led NDA. Following Abbas's disqualification, the 403-member UP House has seen six disqualifications since its constitution after February-March 2022 Assembly elections – the highest in recent years despite nearly two years of its term still remaining. Among the other legislators disqualified since 2022 are three SP and two BJP MLAs. During the full five years of the previous UP Assembly, from 2017 to 2022, a total of four MLAs were disqualified: three from the BJP and one from the SP. MPs and MLAs are disqualified under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which mandates disqualification of convicts for six years in certain cases, including convictions for any offence that has a prison sentence of two or more years. While the principal Opposition SP has called the disqualification of its MLAs 'vendetta politics', the BJP has pointed out that the disqualifications happened in the wake of court trials and convictions. Speaking to The Indian Express, SP spokesperson and Lok Sabha MP Rajeev Rai said, 'This is nothing but vindictive politics against our leaders due to the arrogance of power of the BJP government. This is a blatant misuse of power.' Hitting back, BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said the disqualifications have happened after 'due process'. 'The disqualifications have happened under the Representation of the People Act after convictions by courts. Does the SP not trust our democracy and judiciary that they are raising such questions?' Tripathi asked. Here is a look at the disqualifications of six MLAs in the state since 2022. The former SP minister has faced a slew of cases since the BJP came to power in 2017. A total of 87 cases have been registered against Khan in Rampur on various charges, including land-grabbing, cheating and criminal trespass. In some cases, his wife Tanzeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam Khan are the co-accused. In October 2022, Khan lost his Assembly membership after his conviction in a 2019 hate speech case. The case was lodged based on a complaint by election official Anil Kumar Chauhan, who alleged Khan had 'used foul language for people in constitutional posts, threatened them, and tried to flare a riot' while giving a speech in the Milak Assembly constituency. The FIR against Khan was lodged in April 2019 under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 505(1) (publishing or circulating any statement, rumour or report), as well as Section 125 (promoting enmity between classes in connection with elections) of the Representation of the People Act. The speech in question was made during the campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and SP had contested in an alliance. Bypoll: The bypoll in Khan's seat was held in December 2022, and was won by the BJP's Akash Saxena, his long-time rival. Saxena defeated Khan's confidant and SP candidate Asim Raja by more than 33,000 votes. In November 2022, Saini was disqualified a month after being sentenced to two years of imprisonment in a case related to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. Saini was disqualified after Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary (then allied with the SP) wrote a letter to UP Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana asking why the seat of convicted MLA had not yet been declared vacant when action was immediately taken in the case of SP MLA Azam Khan. A total of 11 people, including Saini, were convicted under charges relating to rioting, rioting armed with deadly weapons, endangering life or personal safety of others, assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and criminal intimidation. Bypoll: In the December 2022 bypoll, RLD candidate Madan Bhaiyya, backed by the SP, defeated Saini's wife and BJP candidate Rajkumari Saini by over 22,143 votes. In February 2023, Abdullah, son of Azam Khan, was disqualified from the Assembly after being sentenced to two years' imprisonment in a 15-year-old case in which Abdullah and his father were booked for blocking traffic after their vehicle was stopped by the police for checking in Moradabad. The incident for which the case was registered against the two leaders occurred a day after the terror attack on the CRPF camp in neighbouring Rampur district in January 2008, which claimed the lives of seven jawans and a rickshaw-puller. The court had convicted the two under IPC sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), and under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act. This was Abdullah's second disqualification from the Assembly. He was earlier disqualified in 2020 after the Allahabad High Court had set aside his election. Bypoll: In the May 2023 bypoll, the seat was won by BJP ally Apna Dal (Soneylal) candidate Shafeek Ahmed Ansari by 8,724 votes against the SP's Anuradha Chauhan. In December 2023, BJP MLA Ramdular Gond was disqualified after he was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment by a Sonbhadra district court in a 2014 rape case involving a 15-year-old girl. He was found guilty under IPC sections for rape, causing disappearance of evidence, and giving false information, and under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The victim's family alleged that over nine years, they faced a lot of pressure and intimidation from the MLA and his associates for withdrawing the case. Bypoll: In June 2024, the seat went to the bypoll, which was won by the SP's Vijay Kumar Singh by 3,208 votes against his rival BJP's Saravan Kumar. In June 2024, Solanki, his younger brother Rizwan, and three others were sentenced to seven years imprisonment for allegedly harassing a woman and setting her house on fire in an attempt to grab her land in the Jajmau area of Kanpur in 2022. This was the first conviction of Solanki, a four-time MLA who has been booked in eight cases since 2022, including charges under the UP Gangsters Act and for forgery. Solanki was subsequently disqualified from the Assembly. Bypoll: In the bypoll held in November 2024, SP candidate Naseem Solanki, Irfan Solanki's wife, won from the Sisamau seat, defeating the BJP's Suresh Awasthi by 8,564 votes. In June, 2025, Abbas Ansari was disqualified after he was sentenced to two years in jail in a case related to a controversial speech in which he allegedly threatened government officials. Abbas, who was elected on the SBSP ticket from Mau Sadar, made the remarks at a public meeting during the 2022 Assembly elections. The case against Abbas was registered by a police official, claiming that in March 2022, he along with some constables had witnessed Abbas and his brother Umar Ansari addressing a crowd of 150 people from a stage and threatening to 'teach a lesson' to the administration officials of Mau after the election, which violated the Model Code of Conduct. Bypoll: The Election Commission (EC) has yet to announce the schedule for this bypoll.
