DMDK won’t ally with PMK, says Premalatha

DMDK won’t ally with PMK, says Premalatha

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:31.01.2021

DMDK treasurer Premalatha Vijayakant on Saturday told her partymen to get ready to contest alone in all 234 constituencies and said the DMDK would not be part of any alliance in which the PMK was present. She also hinted that party founder Vijayakant would make an “important announcement” on his wedding anniversary on Sunday.

Speaking to party functionaries in charge of the 234 constituencies in the state, Premalatha urged them to set up booth-level committees without missing anyone and post additional office-bearers in the constituencies to take up election work. “She said there is no need to wait for ‘others’ and we should start the election work in all 234 constituencies,” said a functionary. The DMDK leader was averse to tying up with the PMK, said the functionary.

Premalatha had recently said that the party wants to contest in 41 seats as it did during the 2011 assembly polls, as part of the AIADMK alliance. The DMDK, however, snapped ties with the AIADMK, within 100 days of Jayalalithaa assuming office as CM.

The party contested as part of the four-party alliance, People’s Welfare Front, in 2016 and came a cropper. After sewing up an alliance with the AIADMK in 2019 LS polls, the DMDK leadership is upset over the ruling party not commencing electoral talks with it even as elections are inching closer. “Premalatha has been repeatedly extending support to V K Sasikala, Jayalalithaa’s close-aide, lauding her sacrifices. She also said Edappadi K Palaniswami was chosen as CM by the party and not by the people. It remains unclear if the AIADMK-DMDK alliance will materialise,” a senior DMDK leader said.

Sasikala to be discharged from B’luru hosp today

Sasikala to be discharged from B’luru hosp today

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

31.01.2021

Expelled AIADMK leader V K Sasikala will be discharged on Sunday from a hospital in Bengaluru, where she was undergoing treatment for Covid-19, an official bulletin said.

"Sasikala has completed 10 days of treatment. She has been asymptomatic and maintaining saturation without oxygen support for three days.

“As per protocol, she can be discharged from the hospital," the Bangalore Medical College & Research Institute said in an official bulletin.

"The team of doctors attending to her have taken the decision that she is fit for discharge and will be discharged tomorrow (Sunday)... with advice of home quarantine," it said.

Sasikala was set free on Wednesday by authorities after she completed four years imprisonment in a jail here in a case of disproportionate assets.

Sasi will reclaim AIADMK: AMMK paper

Sasi will reclaim AIADMK: AMMK paper

Article Says Top AIADMK Leaders Are All Traitors

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:31.01.2021

As former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s close-aide V K Sasikala’s arrival in Chennai next week is likely to create unease in the ruling AIADMK, Namadhu MGR, the official mouthpiece of T T V Dhinakaran’s AMMK, on Saturday claimed no one can stop Sasikala from regaining the reins of the AIADMK. The AIADMK leaders, however, maintain that she would not be re-inducted into the party.

An article published with the headline, ‘Aanaigal Ittu Yaar Thaduthalum’ (No matter whoever swears to block), under a pen name, sought to remind the AIADMK leaders about the popularity of Sasikala among AIADMK cadres, who are putting up posters welcoming her in various parts of the state. Calling her a symbol of sacrifice (for the sake of Jayalalithaa), the article said irrespective of the conspiracies hatched by the treacherous groups along with evil forces, Sasikala would emerge as the leader of the party. She would meet people of Tamil Nadu soon and reveal the true colours of the deceitful characters, who kicked the ladder after using it to climb positions, it said.

Arrangements have been made for Sasikala to resume her political work from a house adjacent to her niece J Krishnapriya’s residence in T Nagar. An embarrassed AIADMK leadership had expelled some party functionaries in Tirunelveli and Trichy districts after they put up posters supporting Sasikala earlier this week. On Saturday, a group of AIADMK men put up similar posters in Theni, the native district of deputy CM and AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam, and Thanjavur, triggering unease in the party. Panneerselvam’s son V P Jayapradeep had earlier issued a statement wishing Sasikala a speedy recovery.

Reminding Sasikala’s efforts in safeguarding the party and retaining power, after the death of Jayalalithaa, Namadhu MGR hit out at chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami without naming him, for ruling out ties with the leader. “History will identify them as traitors. Fact is that they cannot establish Amma’s (Jayalalithaa’s) rule nor can they protect the partymen. The opportunistic traitors, who had knelt, prostrated and surrendered themselves to get positions, should hold their tongue," it said.

The article called upon the AIADMK leadership to honour cadres’ wishes and welcome Sasikala back in the party in unison to establish Jayalalithaa’s rule. AIADMK deputy coordinator K P Munusamy said the party would respond only to Sasikala or Dhinakaran and not to anonymous contributors writing in a paper. “Our party’s stand is very clear and chief minister also echoed the same in New Delhi. There is no chance of any tie up with Sasikala,” he said. The AIADMK’s contention is that Dhinakaran was expelled by Jayalalithaa herself and he was not to be seen for a decade before being given position by Sasikala, hours before she went to Bengaluru prison.

CHANGING EQUATIONS:

Arrangements have been made for Sasikala to resume her political work from a house adjacent to her niece J Krishnapriya’s residence in T Nagar

TN Aids society joint director dies in accident

TN Aids society joint director dies in accident

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

31.01.2021

Dr J Stanley Michael, the joint director of Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (Tansacs), died after the car he was driving rammed a truck near Siruganur in Trichy district in the early hours of Saturday. He was 49.

Michael hailed from Coimbatore. The accident occurred when he was returning to Chennai after visiting his sister in Crawford in Trichy.

When the car was approaching Nedungur village on the Trichy – Chennai national highway, a truck going in front of the car came to a sudden halt. Michael lost control and the car rammed the rear end of the truck. He died on the spot.

The Siruganur police retrieved the body and sent it to a government hospital for postmortem. Police arrested the truck driver and are investigating.

Passengers at Central have few food options

Passengers at Central have few food options

Ayyappan.V@timesgroup.com

Chennai:31.01.2021

Passengers have very few options for buying food at MGR Central railway station and Egmore railway station as IRCTC’s attempt to start retail units including a food plaza is yet to take off.

There were no takers for tenders floated four times for setting up a refreshment room in the space at Central where Jan Aahaar stood and steps are being taken to identify a firm to run a fast food unit and food plaza though they were shut during the Covid-19 shutdown. Similar is the scene at Egmore and Arakkonam stations even though the number of trains and patronage have started touching pre-Covid levels. Last month, IRCTC asked Southern Railway to allow them to hire contractors for the space used for selling food at Central and Arakkonam, nearly two months after they were closed due to losses during the lockdown.

The railway-owned corporation is also facing a peculiar problem of contractors not bidding. “There seems to be no attempt to attract bidders. The terms should be marketdriven. But too many rules and regulations may be restricting,” said a source.

Instead of making it as easy as possible to bid, the corporation is asks contractors to pay for the huge kitchen equipment owned by IRCTC. According to the tender notice, the contractor will have to buy kitchen equipment used in Jan Aaahaar stall at Central like bratt pan and vegetable cutting machine though only a refreshment room is going to be set up in the space. These pieces of equipment cost more than ₹1lakh each.

An IRCTC official said steps were being taken to help contractors. “We have refunded 90% of the licence fee and there is a plan to give back a part of the security deposit too. The tender will be for five years and they need to start paying only after regular train services resume. Now, specials are being run.” He said advance deposit too has been scrapped. "Steps are being taken to ensure businesses take place. The kitchen equipment were bought by IRCTC when railways planned modernization. They will have to be bought. They can bring their equipment too," he added. Southern railway too hesitates to take over the space and run food outlets. Other zones have started taking over space given to IRCTC at some of the stations.

Consumer activist T Sadagopan said, “Railways should come up with a temporary arrangement as it will be difficult to float a tender and find a contractor to open food outlets during the pandemic. They can tie up with the state government, SHGs and societies to set up the amenities. People pay more to travel by special trains as passenger services are not there. So it's the duty of the railways to offer the service at stations.”

AAI to set up RT-PCR test lab at airport

AAI to set up RT-PCR test lab at airport

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:31.01.2021

Airports Authority of India will set up a Covid testing lab facility at Chennai airport in a couple of weeks as the government has given permission for the RT-PCR test.

An airport official said that people who prefer to get tested can pay and give samples. Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports have already started a testing facility to offer passengers an option to get tested as the government has stopped testing international arrivals.

"Though people arrive with a negative certificate, they can be told to take the test if there is a doubt or if they fail temperature screening," he added. The space and people to run the testing centre are ready and the authorities were waiting for the state government to approve the kind of test that will be conducted. "The results wil be known in four to five hours and there will be space like a lounge for passengers to wait. Once the the facility is ready testing may become compulsory for passengers from the UK and other countries," he said.

Now, international passengers can land with a negative RT-PCR test result to avoid quarantine and tests.

Court sets aside order sacking cop accused of rape

Court sets aside order sacking cop accused of rape

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:31.01.2021 

The Madras high court set aside an earlier order of a single judge upholding compulsory retirement for an Armed Reserve policeman, who was accused of making false promises of marrying a 17-year-old girl and sexually assaulting her.

A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy also said the policeman is entitled to half the salary he would have earned if he were in service for the period between the order and the present.

A disciplinary committee of the police department had punished the armed reserve personnel belonging to Vellore division after a 17-year-old girl charged him with sexually assaulting her on the pretext of marrying her. In 2005, the committee dismissed him from service. The policeman appealed against the dismissal stating that during the investigation, charges of sexual harassment were not proven and only the false promise of marriage was confirmed. But the superintendent of police concerned disagreed with the finding rendered by the inquiry officer on the sexual harassment charge. A single judge upheld the order by the disciplinary committee.

While hearing the appeal against the single judge’s order, the first bench observed that the failure to live up to a promise to marry cannot be equated with the commission of the offence of rape.

“What is evident from the appreciation of theevidenceby the disciplinary authority is that the intimacy between the two was established, but there is not a shred of evidence alluded to indicate that any physical violence was resorted to by the delinquent,” the bench observed and set aside the earlier order.

The policeman said that while charge of false promise of marriage was confirmed during probe, the charge of sexual harassment was not proved