Contempt Plea By AIADMK Against 'Stalin-Named' Scheme, DMK Approaches Top Court
AIADMK MP and former minister C Ve Shanmugam has filed a contempt petition in the Madras High Court against the Tamil Nadu Health Secretary and the Public Department Secretary, alleging violation of a court order by continuing to use Chief Minister MK Stalin's name in a new government health outreach programme.
In the run-up to the 2026 assembly elections, the state government recently launched the "Nalam Kaakkum Stalin" (Wellness Ensuring Stalin) initiative, despite a High Court interim order last week barring the use of names of living political personalities in government schemes. The order also prohibited the use of photographs of former Chief Ministers or ideological leaders in publicity material. The court, however, allowed the use of the incumbent Chief Minister's photograph, citing a Supreme Court ruling.
The DMK government had earlier named two flagship schemes -Ungaludan Stalin (Stalin With You) and Nalam Kaakkum Stalin - after the Chief Minister, featuring visuals of both MK Stalin and late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi in outreach campaigns.
These schemes are part of a broader public service drive with elections just eight months away.
Today, the Madras High Court adjourned the hearing on the state's plea to continue using the existing scheme names to August 7, after the Tamil Nadu government moved the Supreme Court challenging the interim order. The top court is expected to hear the case on August 6.
In its plea before the High Court, the state argued that the Chief Minister is a constitutional functionary, not merely a political personality, and that the Supreme Court did not explicitly ban the use of former Chief Ministers' photographs.
DMK sources point out that during J Jayalalithaa's government, the AIADMK had named schemes after "Amma", the name she was fondly called by her cadre.
After her death, her picture, they say, was part of AIADMK's publicity material. The BJP at the centre too has a programme named NaMo, an acronym for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The contempt plea and the state's challenge are now poised for crucial hearings next week, potentially setting a precedent for the naming and promotion of government schemes in Tamil Nadu.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
11 minutes ago
- The Hindu
If Stalin has given good administration, then why hold outreach programmes: Palaniswami
Had Chief Minister M.K. Stalin given good governance since 2021, there would not have been any need to organise outreach campaigns like Ungaludan Stalin and Nalam Kaakkum Stalin. These camps are being held now to hoodwink the people, seven months ahead of the Assembly election, AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has said. Addressing a meeting as part of his Makkalai Kaappom, Thamizhagaththai Meetpom campaign in Tenkasi, Mr. Palaniswami said the AIADMK government opened over 2,000 Amma Mini Clinics across Tamil Nadu with a doctor, a nurse, and an assistant in the areas where the poor lived. Since the DMK government closed these mini clinics, the AIADMK would again open 4,000 them on returning to power in 2026. After closing down the 'Amma Mini Clinics', Mr. Stalin had launched Nalam Kaakkum Stalin one-day health screening camps after being in office for four years. Apart from opening 'Amma Mini Clinics', 254 new Primary Health Centres were opened by AIADMK government besides upgrading 168 PHCs each with 30 beds with sufficient number of doctors. 'If Mr. Stalin, who collected petitions in the boxes during the run-up for 2021 Assembly elections, had addressed all those complaints during these four years, there would have been no need to organise Ungaludan Stalin and Nalam Kaakkum Stalin dramas now, which are enacted to hoodwink the people ahead of the next Assembly elections,' Mr. Palaniswami alleged. After the AIADMK, by giving laptops and other assistances to the students, increased the Gross Enrolment Ratio to 54%, the highest in India, in 2019, the Stalin-led DMK government stopped giving free laptops to the students. 'We gave 52.35 lakh free laptops at an estimate to ₹7,300 crore to students. We'll give you free laptops again when we return to power,' he said. Mr. Palaniswami read out the DMK's 2021 poll promises for Tenkasi district — a law college in Tenkasi, textile park in Sankarankovil, government polytechnic in Kadayanallur, cold storage for fruits and vegetables at Puliyangudi, Speccial Economic Zone in Tenkasi, Government Medical College in Tenkasi, mango squash factory, Ramanadhi — Jambunadhi linking, government forest college in Tenkasi, and asked the people: 'Has Mr. Stalin fulfilled any of these promises?' The former Chief Minister promised the voters that the Tenkasi Collectorate, which is yet to be inaugurated after being built at an estimate of ₹119 crore, would be opened once the AIADMK comes to power.
News18
21 minutes ago
- News18
Bihar voters will show mirror to Rahul Gandhi: Giriraj
Last Updated: New Delhi, Aug 5 (PTI) Bihar voters will show mirror to 'poster boy of Pakikstan' Rahul Gandhi in the coming elections for spreading lies about the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said on Tuesday. 'The SIR is taking place as part of an electoral process yet Rahul Gandhi and Tejaswi Yadav jhooth ki kheti karte hain (they cultivate lies)," he told reporters on the sidelines of inauguration of an event organised by the Ministry of Textiles, in collaboration with the National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC). The minister said if RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav possesses two voter cards, he should die of shame (usse toh chullu bhar paani mein doob ke mar jana chahiye). Singh also lashed out on Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi saying he believes in US President Donald Trump and likes what Pakistan says, but does not agree with the Supreme Court. He referred to recent observations by the Supreme Court against Rahul Gandhi in relation to his remarks on Indian army. 'He (Gandhi) has become the poster boy of Pakistan. He is going to Bihar from the 9th to the 14th. The people of Bihar will show them a mirror in the elections," said Singh, who is MP from Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar. Referring to the over 35 lakh weavers associated with handlooms, the minister said in the near future their designs will be linked to blockchain technology so that the designs do not get stolen by any foreign company again. 'I don't want to take any names, foreign companies are stealing our designs and projecting as their own. India does not need anyone else's design," Singh told reporters. PTI RSN HVA view comments First Published: August 05, 2025, 21:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
India Today
26 minutes ago
- India Today
Lord Krishna was first mediator...: Top court raps UP Govt in Banke Bihari Temple case
During the ongoing hearing in the Banke Bihari Temple case on Monday, the Supreme Court remarked that Lord Krishna was also a mediator. The top court's observation came while it was contemplating an interim committee to look after the management of the iconic Shri Banke Bihari temple at Vrindavan, in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh.'When you talk about mediation, he was the first mediator available. So we also try to mediate,' Justice Surya Kant is an area of extraordinary importance. We don't want to exclude anyone,' the bench said, while granting time to counsel for Uttar Pradesh to seek instructions regarding the interim arrangement. The court also called out the Uttar Pradesh government for the manner in which the state secured an order impacting the management of the Banke Bihari temple without the court hearing its current representatives.'We don't expect the state to do this. You went behind their backs without even giving notice,' the court top court was hearing petitions filed by the temple priests challenging the Banke Bihari Temple Trust Ordinance, 2025, and also seeking modification of the Supreme Court's earlier order permitting the Uttar Pradesh government to utilise funds for the Shri Banke Bihari Temple in is not the first time the government has been questioned by the top court. In May, when this case was heard by a different bench, Justice B.V. Nagarathna questioned why the state decided to "hijack" a litigation between two private Conduct, Alleges PetitionerSenior Advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioners, alleged that the state had 'sneaked in' and obtained a court order — originally related to another temple — without notice to the Banke Bihari temple's existing management. The court, he claimed, had no opportunity to hear the temple management before the May 15 order was passed, which was now being used to justify the the move 'startling,' Divan argued that the Banke Bihari temple is a private temple, and the state had no right to interfere without proper legal Questions State's ApproachThe ASG, representing the UP government, contended that the temple was not private, and those objecting to the ordinance were unauthorised persons. But the Court was not convinced.'Show us where this court ever intended to hear a temple representative? Why was there no public notice? We don't expect the state to move in this manner; the state should have informed,' the bench an example of how initiatives have been taken around the Golden Temple, the court added: 'Such initiatives can be taken at times instead of using legislative or executive power. You think people will say no if you speak to them? Instead, you went behind their backs.'advertisementThe court repeatedly asked the state: 'What stopped you from acquiring the land legally and paying compensation?'The court, however, clarified that the temple funds will have to be utilised for development and can't be pocketed by private persons in the name of a private Committee LikelyIn light of the controversy, the Supreme Court said it is inclined to form an interim management committee headed by a retired High Court judge. The local collector may also be included in the panel would oversee day-to-day temple affairs until the High Court decides on the validity of the ordinance.'Religious tourism is important. Heritage must be maintained. But there must be an ecosystem where pilgrims feel a sense of order, not mismanagement,' the court state has been directed to take instructions and revert. The bench clarified that the ordinance can be challenged under Article 226 before the High Court but stressed that, in the meantime, a balanced interim arrangement may be necessary.- EndsTune InMust Watch
