QChennai: AIADMK, DMK Release Manifesto for 2019 Polls & More

Here is your round-up of the top stories from Chennai.

This is the first time the two main Dravidian parties will be contesting in an election without stalwarts Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa.

(Photo: Shruti Mathur/The Quint)

1. Extend Reservation to Converts: AIADMK Manifesto

AIADMK said the party would urge the Centre to pass a new law whereby those who have converted to Christianity and Islam can retain their caste and claim reservation benefits.(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

In a move to woo the minorities, Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK on Tuesday, 19 March, said it will urge the Centre to pass laws to extend job quotas to those who convert to Christianity and Islam. Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said the party would also urge the Centre to bring a new law enabling reservation of jobs in the private sector.

The AIADMK has promised to urge the Centre to provide a monthly income of Rs 1,500 to the poor with no questions asked, establish a National Commission for Fishermen Welfare in order to improve the social and economic status of the fisher community, implementation of various drinking water and irrigation schemes.

Read the full story here.

2. DMK Manifesto: Scrapping NEET, Release of Rajiv Gandhi’s Killers

A key feature of the manifesto is doing away with the direct cash transfer of subsidy for the LPG and bringing down the prices of cylinders.(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

The DMK promised to do away with the National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical admissions and ushering in quota in the private sector in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha election on Tuesday, 19 March. “The NEET for medical admissions will be scrapped,” DMK Chief MK Stalin said while unveiling the salient features of his party's manifesto.

The party has also promised in its manifesto to release the killers convicted for killing former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Stalin said steps would be taken for implementing reservation in the private sector. The party also assured steps for waiver of all educational loans taken by students.

Read the full story here.

3. Pollachi Sexual Abuse: Editor Moves HC for Bail on Video ‘Release’

The case relates to the sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman in a car by a four-member gang near Pollachi in Coimbatore district on 12 February.(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The editor of Tamil bi-weekly Nakkheeran R Gopal, has moved the Madras High Court, seeking anticipatory bail in connection with videos that were allegedly released on the Pollachi sexual abuse case. He submitted that the cybercrime wing, acting on a complaint from Deputy Speaker Pollachi Jayaraman, had registered cases against him under sections 153, 153 (A), 505, 469 of the IPC and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act.

Alleging that ‘foisting’ such a case against him was nothing but blatant misuse of power, Gopal said, “The mala fide intention of the complainant is to scare any other media from publishing any evidence in connection with the Pollachi sexual abuse case.”

Read the full story here.

4. Man Stabs Wife on Madras High Court Premises

A man stabbed his wife inside a family court room in the Madras High Court campus on Tuesday. (Photo Courtesy: iStock)

A man stabbed his wife inside a family court room in the Madras High Court campus on Tuesday, 19 March. The victim Varalakshmi was attacked by her husband Saravanan, a resident of Padappai near Chennai.

According to police, the couple had a matrimonial dispute case pending before first Additional Family Court located at the ground floor of the building which also houses a dozen other courts. Saravanan and his wife had a wordy quarrel on the corridor. Suddenly, the accused whipped out a knife and attacked his wife. Immediately, lawyers and others caught and thrashed him. He was subsequently handed over to the High Court police. The crime was committed in front of the judges in the open court which was jam-packed in the busy hours.

(Source: The Hindu)

5. File Reply to Plea From Christians to Reschedule Poll Date: Madras High Court

The notification was issued by the Madras High Court on Tuesday, 8 January.(Photo: iStockphoto/Altered by The Quint)

The Madras High Court has directed the Election Commission of India to file its reply to the PIL, which sought to reschedule the polling date, scheduled on 18 April in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry or in the alternative to shift the election booths to any other premises convenient for the government and public, other than the schools run by the Christian community since the election date falls on Maundy Thursday and within the ‘Three Holy Days’ or the ‘Holy Triduum’ of religious importance for Christians.

According to the petitioner, most of the schools within the Catholic Church were traditionally used by the government as election booths. When a school was notified as an election booth, a specified radius and its perimeter will become a security zone, with restricted movements.

(Source: Deccan Chronicle)