CM Vijay, Udhayanidhi spar on social media

CM Vijay, Udhayanidhi spar on social media 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK  14.05.2026

Chennai : Hours after the assembly session was adjourned sine die, chief minister C Joseph Vijay and former deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin were involved in a war of words on social media. While Vijay mocked DMK for not getting the majority in 2006, Udhayanidhi responded, saying that DMK was not involved in a postpoll alliance or horse trading despite not having enough MLAs back then. 

Vijay issued a statement on X in response to the remarks made by Udhayanidhi in the assembly earlier in the day that TVK lacked people’s support as it does not have majority. Vijay said DMK was repeating “old, stale and sour arguments” by claiming TVK lacked public support. 

“DMK will never understand reality,” he said. Vijay said TVK secured 34.92% vote share while contesting alone now, against DMK’s standalone vote share of 24.19%. Referring to the 2006 election when DMK had only 96 MLAs and formed minority govt with support of allies, Vijay made a sarcastic remark that ‘DMK won all 234 seats with 100% votes from people.’ 

“People of Tamil Nadu must have smirked recalling the single majority govt formed by DMK in 2006,’’ he said. 

Udhayanidhi hit back at Vijay, saying the party did not attempt to form a postpoll alliance or indulge in “horse-trading” to capture power even when it did not have majority, unlike TVK. Udhayanidhi said Vijay became chief minister with the support of parties and votes that were “rejected” by the people. Drawing a comparison with the 2006 DMK regime, he said that govt was formed with the support of alliance partners and not by “buying MLAs, engineering defections or splitting parties”. DMK accepted the people’s verdict and chose to sit in the opposition benches, he said. 

“We did not visit Lok Bhavan everyday out of desperation for power,” he said. He said DMK may have lost the election, but forcing TVK to continue the Dravidian model welfare schemes itself was “a victory for the opposition.”

Passengers can’t fly Air India to Singapore from June to Aug

Passengers can’t fly Air India to Singapore from June to Aug

 Venkadesan.S@timesofindia.com 14.015.2026

Chennai : Air India will suspend its twice daily direct flights from Chennai to Singapore as part of a wider rationalisation drive in view of soaring fuel costs and operational pressures. It is not clear if the 14 connecting flights to Singapore via Mumbai and Delhi have also been curtailed. A fresh timetable is expected in some time. The Tata Group-owned carrier on Wednesday announced that operations would be curtailed on other international routes as well. 

These include Delhi-Shanghai, Mumbai-Dhaka and DelhiMale through Aug, and reduced frequency of flights to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Kathmandu, Colombo and Dhaka. 

The impact extends to Europe, North America and Australia as well. Air India has suspended the Delhi-Chicago route temporarily and reduced frequencies to San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, Paris, Copenhagen, Milan, Zurich, Rome, Melbourne and Sydney, among others. Despite the temporary cuts, the airline said it would continue operating more than 1,200 international flights every month across fi-ve continents, including 158 weekly flights to the Far East, Southeast Asia and SAARC destinations. 

The Chennai-Singapore flights cater to leisure travellers, business passengers, students and transit flyers connecting to Southeast Asia, the Far East and Australia. International carriers such as Singapore Airlines and Scoot Airways too operate direct flights between Chennai and Singapore. 

A Sankar, president of Indian Air Passengers’Association, said that move will encourage other carriers to raise fares. “Airlines reducing the operations despite the Union govt releasing ₹5,000 crore emergency credit to them shows their incapability to manage the crisis,” he said. Sankar said Chennai-Singapore is one of the busiest sectors, with people from all walks of life often travelling between these countries for business, work as well as for leisure.

 Air India said affected passengers would be offered alternative flights where feasible, along with 1 options for free date changes or full refunds. The airline added that it is working with regulators and airport authorities to restore full capacity once operating conditions get better.

With AIADMK Aid, Vijay Set For Trust Vote Win

With AIADMK Aid, Vijay Set For Trust Vote Win 

G Babu Jayakumar & D Sekar 1

2 May 2026 10:05 PM 

AMMK member Kamraj supports TVK, expelled from party

Chennai: The government led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay is all set to smoothly sail through the floor test on Wednesday with the top honchos of the 30-strong AIADMK dissident group, S.P. Velumani and C.V. Shanmugham, extending support to the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK). On his part, Vijay expressed gratitude for the gesture by visiting Shanmugham at his residence in Adyar and meeting other AIADMK MLAs there on Tuesday.

Though the TVK shown the support of over 118 MLAs to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, and there is no indication of any member or party reneging in their commitment, the AIADMK faction’s support came as a boost to Vijay.

Speaking to reporters, Shanmugam said they would meet provide a letter supporting Vijay’s government. He also alleged that AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami wanted to form government with the DMK's support.

The Palanaswami group of the AIADMK decided to vote against the confidence motion, senior party leader Agri S.S. Krishnamurthy said here. He also warned that potential cross-voting will face legal consequences, specifically noting that proceedings would be initiated under the anti-defection law if necessary. He said 47 party MLAs had earlier elected Palaniswami as their leader submitted a letter to the Assembly Speaker to that effect.

R. Kamraj, the lone MLA from the AMMK of T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who was elected from Mannargudi, pledged his support to the TVK after he was expelled from the party, thus adding to the ruling party’s tally.

Continuing his thanksgiving journey through Chennai streets that he began on Monday, Vijay also called on VCK chief Thol Thirmavalavan at his residence in Velachery and IUML president K.M. Kader Mohideen besides paying a visit to Sathyamurthy Bhavan to thank Congress leaders, who were the first to extend support to the TVK when it was struggling to prove is majority with only 108 of the 234 seats in its kitty.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle

NEWS TODAY 13.05.2026