Latest news with #AIADMK
Time of India
26 minutes ago
- Politics
- Time of India
AIADMK, DMK spar over Keeladi
Chennai: Asserting that did not spend even a paisa for Keeladi archaeological explorations, on Friday accused it of politicising the excavation report submitted by ASI official K Amarnath Ramakrishna. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The DMK rejected the charges, saying DMK govt allotted 27 crore in the last four years for archaeological explorations in 37 places, including Keeladi. Addressing reporters at AIADMK headquarters, former minister Mafoi K Pandiarajan said the previous AIADMK govt was instrumental in the ongoing archaeological explorations and excavations in eight places. The govt acquired 100 acres from farmers amidst unrest and sent artefacts to advanced laboratories in the US, Singapore, and Italy for carbon dating and material analysis. When the Centre hesitated to fund further excavations, former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami stepped in and allocated funds to continue the research by the state archaeology department, and reports were submitted to the Centre, he said. "Only the AIADMK did excavation in Keeladi, while the DMK politicised it," Pandiarajan said, adding that the EPS govt had allotted 105 crore every year. At Anna Arivalayam, DMK medical wing secretary and MLA N Ezhilan told reporters that Pandiarajan's statement that AIADMK allotted 105 crore for Keeladi excavation was a blatant lie. "The AIADMK govt allotted only 55 lakh." When Union govt halted the excavations abruptly in 2016, DMK MP Kanimozhi went to the court. Only after the court directed the resumption of the excavation did the AIADMK govt continue the exercise, he said. "TN people will never forgive EPS for betraying Tamil culture and its ancient heritage," Ezhilan added. Pandiarajan said the previous report on Keeladi findings proved Tamil was a developed writing system 2,500 years ago. The latest report from Ramakrishna outlined a different time bracket, prompting the ASI to ask for clarification. "You must respond. Instead, submitting the paper to (chief minister) Stalin and making him speak is nothing but politics," he said. Pandiarajan said the Union govt was not saying that Tamil was not ancient.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
AIADMK cadre hold one-day hunger strike in support of mango farmers
Coimbatore: AIADMK cadre held a one-day hunger strike at New Bus Stand in Krishnagiri from 9am to 5pm on Friday, demanding the govt to fix the right price for mango procurement. AIADMK deputy general secretary and Veppanahalli MLA KP Munusamy presided over the strike. After the hunger strike, Munusamy said farmers from Krishnagiri district cultivated mangoes on an area of 35,000 hectares. Thought the yield is good this year, farmers say, they didn't get the right price for mangoes. "Similarly, mango pulp factories are also struggling to pay the right price due to the stock of mango pulp already produced and the high yield. The affected mango farmers should be given a compensation of Rs 30,000 per acre, and the govt should also establish a mango board and fix a mango procurement price of Rs 13 per kg." Rajya Sabha MP Thambidurai, former minister Balakrishna Reddy, Krishnagiri MLA Ashok Kumar, Uthankarai MLA Tamilselvan, and many others from AIADMK participated in this hunger strike.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
AIADMK complains against DMK over EPS cartoon
Trichy: AIADMK functionaries have sought legal action against DMK IT wing for sharing a derogatory cartoon criticizing party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami . In a complaint submitted to SP S Selvanagarathinam on Friday, they sought action against industries minister T R B Rajaa who is the secretary of DMK IT wing. "The cartoon shared by the official handle of DMK's IT wing was in a very bad taste. If action is not taken against the perpetrators, we will hold a massive protest after obtain permission from our general secretary," AIADMK's Trichy north district secretary M Paranjothi said. Accompanied by former MP P Kumar and former chief whip R Manoharan, the functionaries asked the police to take down the cartoon shared by DMK on its official social media pages and handles. Meanwhile, AIADMK MLA C Vijaya Baskar accused DMK of distorting history. He claimed that AIADMK, during its previous term, had taken several measures to celebrate Tamil Nadu's rich and ancient history. "Following Jayalalithaa, when EPS was chief minister, he sanctioned Rs12 crore for a museum in Keeladi. The AIADMK proudly celebrated Tamil heritage, but in an attempt to overshadow those efforts, DMK is targeting a tall leader like EPS with personal and derogatory caricatures," he added.
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
The AIADMK defends its role in Keeladi excavations, wants politics out of the issue
The AIADMK has defended its role in the Keeladi excavations when it was in power. It also accused the ruling DMK of 'indulging only in politics' on the issue. On Wednesday, the main Opposition party, long criticised for being silent on the issue, claimed credit for the Keeladi excavations during April-August 2018. Puratchi Thalaivi Peravai secretary and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R.B. Udhayakumar made these remarks in a statement. The next day, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin attacked the AIADMK for 'maintaining silence'. On Friday, the party fielded deputy propaganda secretary K. Pandiarajan, who was the Minister for Tamil Language and Culture and Archaeology during 2017-21, to explain to the media the AIADMK government's record in archaeology in general and Keeladi in particular. The former Minister pointed out that the average annual allocation for the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) was hardly ₹2 crore once. This went up to ₹105 crore, including the Centre government's share. Touching upon the archaeological work at Adichanallur in Thoothukudi district, he said that it was Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami who got the Union government to sanction the establishment of a site museum (which is being built at a cost of ₹17 crore). Litigation before Madurai Bench Tracing the origin of the Keeladi controversy, Mr. Pandiarajan recalled that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had, at one stage, decided not to pursue the project further. Jayalalithaa was the Chief Minister then, and she decided that the State government would step in if the Centre walked out. So, the AIADMK government applied to the Central government for approval, even as litigation was pending before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. Later, the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology (CABA) permitted the TNSDA to conduct excavations, which were done in stages. The reports were submitted to the Union government. At the 2019 Book Fair in Chennai, Mr. Palaniswami released the first report. When the ASI did the work in Keeladi, it confined itself to a few acres of land. But when the TNSDA stepped in, about 100 acres was acquired. It was from the Beta Analytic Testing Laboratory, Miami, Florida, U.S., that the dating report was obtained for the Keeladi findings, the former Minister said, adding that the proposal for a site museum at Keeladi was approved when Mr. Palaniswami was the Chief Minister. 'Culture of sticking posters' Acknowledging that the TNSDA was created in the late 1960s when the DMK was in power, Mr. Pandiarajan, however, said that of a total of 39 excavations done so far, 33 were carried out when the AIADMK was in power. But the DMK government wanted to 'take credit for all the work' done by the AIADMK government. 'This is the height of the culture of sticking posters [on what the previous government had achieved],' Mr. Pandiarajan said, wondering how much the ruling DMK had allocated for the Keeladi excavations and whether those who were agitating on the issue had read the reports produced by the AIADMK government. It was for ASI official Amarnath Ramakrishna to clarify the points raised by the ASI on the Keeladi excavations, and there was no room here for politics, Mr. Pandiarajan said, adding that the ASI did not question the antiquity of the Keeladi civilisation but raised some questions based on the reports submitted by the State government when the AIADMK was in power. A 'blatant lie' Speaking to reporters at Anna Arivalayam, DMK MLA N. Ezhilan said the Edappadi Palaniswami-led AIADMK government started the Keeladi excavationS based only on a Supreme Court verdict. He said the AIADMK government allocated funds only for two excavations: ₹5 lakh for Pattaraiperumpudur in Tiruvallur district and ₹55 lakh for Keeladi. He termed the AIADMK's claim of allocation of ₹105 crore a 'blatant lie'.
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
Former Rasipuram municipal chairman arrested for cheating public
COIMBATORE: The crime branch of the Namakkal district police arrested a former Rasipuram municipal chairman -- who is an AIADMK functionary -- on charges of cheating the public to the tune of Rs 11.50 lakh by promising to give them house sites. The arrested man has been identified as M Balasubramanian, 56. He is AIADMK's Rasipuram urban secretary. Police said Balasubramanian was a real estate promoter in 2009. He sold around 2,500 plots in and around Rasipuram. He announced that people who wanted to buy sites for constructing houses could pay him in instalments over a period of 50 months. Once people paid the full amount of Rs 1.15 lakh, he would register a site in their names immediately. He sold more than 2,000 sites to people. However, he allegedly failed to register plots in the name of some people who invested their money with him. Around 11 people lodged a complaint with the DCB police two weeks ago, alleging that Balasubramanian had failed to register the sites in their names and cheated them by receiving the amounts through monthly instalments. They demanded action against him. After a detailed inquiry, the police registered an FIR against Balasubramanian and arrested him on Thursday evening. He was remanded in judicial custody on Friday.
