Latest news with #Stalin
Hans India
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Hans India
DMK to formally launch party‘s 2026 Assembly election campaign from Madurai tomorrow
Madurai: The ruling DMK is gearing up for its General Council meeting on June 1 in Madurai, where Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is expected to formally launch the party's campaign for the 2026 Assembly elections. This high-profile meeting is being held in the temple town after more than four decades, signalling the party's strategic focus on southern Tamil Nadu. Party insiders confirm that CM Stalin will use the occasion to rally cadres and issue a clarion call for the next electoral battle. The move also comes amid renewed political equations, with the AIADMK returning to the BJP-led NDA — a development the DMK intends to counter aggressively. The General Council is set to pass key resolutions on familiar themes: State autonomy, linguistic rights, secularism, social justice, and criticism of the Governor's office. However, the meeting is also expected to build on the political capital earned by the DMK following its firm opposition to the contentious tungsten mining project, which was ultimately shelved. This stance has found resonance in southern districts where public sentiment was strongly against the project. The DMK's choice of Madurai also aims to curb the early momentum of actor Vijay's political outfit, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which has reportedly marked Madurai as a base for its outreach. The DMK hopes to reassert its dominance by assembling its 3,000-member decision-making body in the city, with around 100 senior leaders set to address a crowd of more than 10,000. Organisational changes are also on the agenda. Highways Minister and senior leader E.V. Velu is likely to be elevated as a deputy general secretary. However, speculation about Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin being given a similar role has been dismissed by party sources. The Council is also expected to formalise new wings such as the 'Unorganised Drivers' Wing' and a 'Sports Development Wing', initiatives that are intended to bring more youth and women into the party fold. CM Stalin is also likely to issue warnings to some senior leaders over poor performance, signalling a push for internal accountability. With these developments, the DMK aims to energise its base and fine-tune its organisational machinery ahead of the 2026 polls.
New Indian Express
16 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Tamil Nadu CM Stalin reviews environmental impact of MSC ELSA 3 shipwreck
CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday chaired a high-level review meeting at the secretariat to address the environmental impact of the MSC ELSA 3 shipwreck off the Kochi coast. The Liberian-flagged cargo vessel capsized 38 nautical miles off Kerala, releasing plastic nurdles, fuel, and other hazardous materials into the sea. Due to the southwest monsoon, debris washed ashore along parts of Kerala and the west coast of Kanniyakumari district. The meeting focused on safe disposal of plastic nurdles along the southern coastal districts of Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Ramanathapuram. An environmental impact assessment is being done by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), in coordination with the National Institute of Ocean Technology and other expert agencies. The fisheries department has restricted fishing activities in affected areas and is investigating the possibility of nurdle ingestion by marine species. District collectors, under the guidance of the State Disaster Management Authority, have been directed to coordinate with the police and volunteers for safe clean-up, a release said. While no hazardous materials have reached Tamil Nadu shores so far, the chief minister has ordered officials to ensure continous monitoring, conduct both short- and long-term impact studies, and expedite assessments of marine life health. Stalin highlighted the importance of protecting the region's marine ecosystem, drawing parallel with the 2021 X-Press Pearl disaster off the coast of Sri Lanka. TN constitutes committee, seeks public opinion on bus fare revision Chennai: The state government has issued a notification inviting public opinion on a proposed hike in bus fare. A committee headed by the transport commissioner has also been constituted to examine the proposal, following a directive from the Madras High Court. The court issued the order while hearing a petition filed by the Private Bus Operators Association seeking a fare revision. As per the notification, public can send their comments by post to the office of the transport commissioner in Guindy.
Hindustan Times
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Stalin to hold 20-km roadshow in Madurai on June 1
The ruling DMK will hold its general council meeting in Madurai on June 1 where party president and Chief minister M K Stalin is expected to hold a 20-km roadshow and sound the poll bugle for the 2026 assembly elections. Stalin on Friday wrote to his cadre that DMK is fighting against the BJP-led Union government against various issues for the state while he criticised the AIADMK mortgaging the rights of Tamil Nadu. The DMK has set a target to win 200 out of 234 assembly seats along with its allies. 'The party's general assembly will be meeting in Madurai with several serious discussions , including heartfelt opinions from general assembly members and decisions that will determine Indian politics and the development of Tamil Nadu,' Stalin said in his letter inviting cadre for the mega event. 'What should we do? What is our duty? What is our goal? Let's finalize it. Let's ensure the party's victory in 2026 and the continuation of good governance in Tamil Nadu.' Stalin said that his party's government does not have the habit of pawning state rights to the Union government for office like previous rulers in a veiled attack against the AIADMK. 'Even if the Union government refuses to provide funds for education, we are spending state government funds on education with the assurance that the bilingual policy given by Anna (DMK founder C N Annadurai) will remain here.... People of Tamil Nadu want this good governance to continue. The opposition parties, who cannot criticize the Dravidian model of governance, are trying hard to recover from their defeat by fabricating anything, spreading slander, and spreading fake news. The opposition parties, individually, in alliances, and holding secret consultations, have been engaged in propaganda efforts against us in the media and on social media.' Stalin also responded that concerns raised by him in his letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman regarding RBI draft guidelines on gold loans has been addressed. 'Protecting the interests of small borrowers, especially those seeking loans below Rs. 2 lakh such as farmers and daily earners and ensuring timely and accessible credit has been my consistent demand,' Stalin said. While appreciating the positive consideration given to this issue, we emphasize that such policies having significant impact on poor should be arrived after due prior consultation with States.
Time of India
20 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
Plastic nurdle spill threatens Gulf of Mannar
Chennai: Plastic nurdles from the Liberia-flagged container ship that sank off the Kerala coast could spread to the ecologically sensitive Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve in less than two days. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A simulation using the search and rescue aid tool (SARAT) run by INCOIS, Hyderabad, shows that the nurdles are likely to drift further along the coast near Sattankulam by Saturday evening, before moving southward and offshore on Sunday. The tiny plastic pellets, used in plastic manufacturing, had already started washing ashore in Kanyakumari district on Wednesday. "In 36 to 48 hours, the nurdles are likely to move offshore because the currents in that area are directed away from the coast. However, due to wind patterns, a portion of the spill could drift into the Gulf of Mannar. But the majority is expected to reach Sri Lanka's west coast," said Balakrishnan Nair T M, Director, INCOIS. The container vessel MSC Elsa-3 sank on May 25, about 38 nautical miles (about 70 km) off the Kerala coast, between the ports of Vizhinjam and Kochi. The ship was carrying 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous materials such as calcium carbide, along with 84.44 tonnes of diesel and 367.1 tonnes of furnace oil. On Friday, chief minister M K Stalin chaired a meeting with officials on the safety measures to be taken to remove nurdles and other hazardous waste from the Elsa-3 shipwreck. According to a release from the state govt, Stalin inquired of environment and forest department secretary Supriya Sahu whether there was any oil spill from the ship accident and whether the marine organisms were affected. Sahu informed him that the pollution control board officials were inspecting if there was any oil spill and that they had contacted the ship authorities to determine whether there were any hazardous substances onboard the ship. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Veterinary and fisheries department secretary N Subbian told Stalin that he directed the fisheries officials to check whether the marine organisms were affected by the shipwreck and whether nurdles have been ingested by marine organisms. The fishermen were also advised to avoid fishing in the affected areas, Subbian told Stalin. Stalin directed the officials to monitor the movement of nurdles according to climatic conditions and to check the possible coastal areas where nurdles might get washed away. The district collectors of Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, and Ramanathapuram were already briefed by the state disaster response authority about the steps to be taken to remove nurdles.
a day ago
- Politics
A statue of Stalin is unveiled in the Moscow subway as Russia tries to revive the dictator's legacy
MOSCOW -- A monument to Josef Stalin has been unveiled at one of Moscow's busiest subway stations, the latest attempt by Russian authorities to revive the legacy of the brutal Soviet dictator. The sculpture shows Stalin surrounded by beaming workers and children with flowers. It was installed at the Taganskaya station to mark the 90th anniversary of the Moscow Metro, the sprawling subway known for its mosaics, chandeliers and other ornate decorations that was built under Stalin. It replaces an earlier tribute that was removed in the decade following Stalin's 1953 death in a drive to root out his 'cult of personality' and reckon with decades of repression marked by show trials, nighttime arrests and millions killed or thrown into prison camps as 'enemies of the people.' Muscovites have given differing responses to the unveiling earlier this month, with some recalling how the country lived in fear under his rule. Many commuters took photos of the monument and some laid flowers beneath it. Aleksei Zavatsin, 22, told The Associated Press that Stalin was a 'great man" who had 'made a poor country into a superpower.' 'He raised the country from its knees,' he said. Activists from a Russian political movement that voices pro-democratic and nationalist views, protested by placing posters at the foot of the monument that quoted top politicians condemning the dictator. One poster, featuring President Vladimir Putin, cited him as bemoaning Stalin's 'mass crimes against the people," and saying his modernization of the USSR came at the price of 'unacceptable' repression. The unveiling came weeks after Putin signed a decree renaming the airport in Volgograd as Stalingrad — as the city was called when the Soviet Red Army defeated Nazi German forces there in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. Volgograd itself briefly reverted to its former name on May 8-9 for Victory Day celebrations and will be temporarily renamed five more times this year to mark related wartime anniversaries. Putin has invoked the Battle of Stalingrad, which lasted five months and saw up to 2 million soldiers and civilians killed, as justification for Moscow's actions in Ukraine. Russian political analyst Pyotr Miloserdov said the Kremlin has used a broader drive to embrace Stalin's legacy to justify both the conflict in Ukraine and crackdown on dissent at home. 'Stalin was a tyrant, a despot, and that's what we need," he told AP. Authorities want to revive Stalin's image to popularize the idea of strongman rule, he added, and paint violence and repression as justified under extraordinary circumstances. 'This can lead to justifying any senseless, forceful actions. Under Stalin, this was allowed, there was a war. ... So, here is our special military operation, and now this is allowed too. This is simply an attempt to justify the use of force on people," Miloserdov said.
