Alagiri-Poongothai issue mars DMK meeting

CHENNAI: The much expected Alagiri-Poongothai meeting did not materialise. But in the wake of the controversial Radia conversation tapes, the DMK's review meeting with functionaries of Tirunelveli district held in the city on Wednesday and presided over by chief minister and party president M Karunanidhi proved stormy enough. Union minister MK Alagiri was in New Delhi and could not attend the meeting, but state IT minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna participated, triggering some tense moments.

According to a senior leader, as soon as the meeting began, Siva Padmanabhan from Alangulam, a supporter of the Madurai strongman, demanded an explanation from the minister for describing Alagiri as "a cut throat politician" in a reported conversation with Radia, audio recordings of which have been put out online.

But a flustered Poongothai stood up and told the gathering of senior functionaries from Tirunelveli that she had already made her explanations to the party supremo. Karunanidhi too urged the functionary not to bring up the issue again. While the Radia tape matter was shelved for the moment, the meeting took on a caste tone for the first time, with nadar' (the caste to which Poongothai belongs) and thevar' functionaries of the party openly squabbling.

Party sources said Karunanidhi stressed again on the need for unity within the party to take on the opposition in the assembly elections. In a series of election committee meetings being held in Chennai in the run up to the assembly polls, Karunanidhi, worried by the in-fighting within the party in most districts, has been urging partymen to shed their differences and work together.

Actor KARTHIK jaya t.v interview on diwali

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மறவர் அரசியல் உரிமை மாநாடு 18.07.2010

கீழத்தூவல் நினைவேந்தல் 2010

Jayalalithaa makes friend Sasikalaa party executive committee member Read more: Jayalalithaa makes friend Sasikalaa party executive committee member

CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa has quietly reinstated Sasikalaa, her confidante who lives with her in her Poes Garden residence here, as a member of the party's executive committee.

While no official release was issued by the AIADMK about Sasikalaa's nomination to the party's executive committee, which includes 65 other women, the decision has been communicated to the party members. "This is nothing new. She has been a general council and executive committee member for several years now," observed an AIADMK senior. But significantly, this year, there is a clamour among Sasikalaa's relatives and influential members of the AIADMK hailing from her dominant Thevar community to also give her a key party post. Some are even suggesting the post of deputy general secretary.

"How does a post matter when Sasikalaa is practically running the party along with Amma?" remarked a former minister in the party. According to him, Jayalalithaa's long-time friend is an "excellent organiser" of field workers. "She knows every union and town secretary by name. She coordinates every day with the informal committees that the party has constituted in every region to monitor the functioning of party office-bearers. There is nothing that happens in the party that she does not know or is not aware of."

With Jayalalithaa having sidelined all the family members of Sasikalaa, including a couple of her high profile nephews, the more recent being Dr K Venkatesh, who was stripped off the post of the party's youth wing secretary, there is a feeling within the family that a member should have a formal representation in the party's top echelons. But focussing her stinging diatribes on Karunanidhi's indulgence of his family members and dynastic rule in the run up to the assembly election, Jayalalithaa may not be in a hurry to reward her closest friend with an influential post.

Sasikalaa's closeness to AIADMK supremo has been openly acknowledged by Jayalalithaa herself. However in August 1996, soon after the party's disastrous showing in the assembly election that year, Jayalalithaa was forced to distance herself from her friend. Jayalalithaa had then issued a statement saying that thousands of partymen had expressed the view that the AIADMK suffered defeat in the 1996 assembly polls mostly because of "the activities" of her friend's family. But about a year later, Sasikalaa was back in Poes Garden. EOM

Hounds of pride now fetch rent

Dec. 11: Hunting dogs were once bred by the dominant castes, particularly the Thevars, in Thoothukudi for family pride. It has now become a business as dogs are now rented out to traditional hunters due to economic necessity and the entry of some other communities in the field.

The Thevar-dominated villages around Srivaikundam, in Thoothukudi district, have been known for generations for their greyhound hunting dogs. Some families are still identified as Vettai Raja Kudumbam (Family of the Hunter King).

However, except for a few families like Srivaikundam’s Chelladurai Thevar’s, many have given up breeding dogs or hunting as the forest department strictly prohibits hunting of even rabbits and rodents in nearby Vallanadu mountain, which is now a protected sanctuary for blackbucks and spotted deer.

Moreover, feeding the dogs is an expensive affair. In the face of these problems, some others evolved a new strategy of renting out their dogs to groups that still hunt in Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli.

But not many Thevars rent out their dogs, according to Mr Selvaraj of Vagaikulam, who added that the new entrants in this field (mostly dalits) resort to the rental business.

The dogs were earlier rented out for 20 per cent of the flesh of the prey (mostly rabbits and wild rodents) but are now given only for money — between `100 and `300 according to the calibre of the hound.

Mr Chelladurai, 55, a landlord of Srivaikundam, said he does not give away the puppies his dogs have because he wants to retain his distinct identity in his village. The family used to kill the puppies that they didn’t want to raise. He said they hunt for rabbits in the thorny bushes around the villages that is a necessity as the dogs need the exercise.

YB Samy Vellu's tweets upset real Samy Vellu

PETALING JAYA: Former MIC president S Samy Vellu wants the authorities to act against those using his name on Twitter to comment on the “Ketuanan Melayu” (Malay supremacy) issue.

Samy Vellu said he would file a complaint with the Malaysian Multimedia and Communications Commission (MCMC) against the individuals posting the tweets under the name “YB Samy Vellu”.

“I have been informed that some irresponsible people are using my name to take pot shots at the Malay supremacy issue.

“I hope the authorities will act swiftly before these individuals create more damage. These individuals must be stopped as their action will thwart national security,” he added in a statement.

Among the tweets posted by the so-called “YB Samy Vellu” read: “If you want me to stop caste politics, then let us all stop together. Ask those Malay extremists to stop racial politics.”

The tweet also touched on the sensitive issue of caste politics in MIC saying, “Thevar can also mean Devar or Dewa. It means divine.

“We are known as divine people, not like the pariah (outcaste). That is why only under the Thevar, Devar or Dewa, we can maintain stability and peace in MIC, because we are like Gods.”