Anwhar Raajhaa, Maitreyan will not stay in any political party permanently, says Palaniswami
Mr. Palaniswami's reaction comes in the wake of Mr. Maitreyan, former AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP, joining the DMK on Wednesday in the presence of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at Anna Arivalayam, Chennai.
Soon, Mr. Palaniswami announced Mr. Maitreyan's expulsion from the party. 'In a democratic country, any leader can join any political party. They [Mr. Raajhaa and Mr. Maitreyan] have not stayed in any political party permanently. Only we [AIADMK] know what happened within the party for their exit,' he said.
The AIADMK general secretary was speaking to reporters in Tirupattur as part of his State-wide tour. In July, Mr. Raajhaa, who was formerly the Minister for Labour in the AIADMK government from 2001 to 2003, joined the DMK in the presence of Mr. Stalin in Chennai.
The former Chief Minister indicated that more like-minded political parties will join the AIADMK-BJP-led front in the State in the coming months, ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls. He insisted that the coalition led by him will be the deciding authority on which political party should be in their alliance.
Further, the AIADMK leader strongly opposed the United States imposing a 50% tariff on Indian imports. 'We are completely against the tariff imposed on Indian goods by the U.S. The Centre should take constructive steps to resolve the issue amicably,' he said.
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The Dilkusha garden and Kothi saw a major battle between the Indian and colonial forces in November 1857 where Indian forces lost because they were heavily outnumbered, according to Subhash Kushwaha, a historian and author. Only a few towers and external walls of the Kothi were left after the battle. They are currently in a satisfactory state. Charbagh, a witness to the arrival of several freedom fighters, continues to stand tall though a board about Gandhi and Nehru's meeting is not very visible due to encroachment. Experts suggest there should be bigger boards, which can grab the attention of passers by narrating stories related to various incidents associated with freedom struggle. In the 20th century, Charbagh became a staging ground for the nationalistic forces, said Devesh Pandey, LU research scholar who has researched the role of Charbagh in the freedom struggle, 'Two prominent leaders of the Indian national movement, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, first met at the Charbagh station in December 1916, when they came to attend the Congress session in Lucknow. When Lokmanya Tilak arrived by a special train to participate in this session, massive crowds swelled at the station to get his glimpse,' Pandey said. It was at the Lucknow station that freedom fighter Ramprasad Bismil saw how the iron boxes containing government funds were taken out unchained, he said. This gave him the confidence to carry out the Kakori Train Action to fund revolutionary activities. 'During the protests against the Simon Commission in 1928, Charbagh had become an important congregation ground for the protestors. In these protests, Dalit members of the Adi Hindu Samaj also raised their voice for securing their community's legitimate demands. The high point was reached during the Quit India Movement of 1942 which generated intense political activity in Lucknow,' Pandey added. Similarly, the Farangi Mahal lacks any cenotaph or plaque at the main entrance about its contribution to the freedom struggle. 'The main figure of the institute, Maulana Abdul Bari, collected grants from Muslims from across the country for the independence struggle and even invited Gandhi quite a few times. The visits of Gandhi to Farangi Mahal helped ease the Hindi-Muslim riots at that time and played a role in decreasing animosity between communities. Other prominent figures, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu and Abdul Kalam Azad, also visited it at various times. I have asked the Islamic Centre of India to add a cenotaph related to the contribution of Farangi Mahal outside the main gate,' said Imam Eidgah Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali.
