United on defeating EPS
Months ahead of elections in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK breakaway leaders are pulling in different directions, again.
O. Panneerselvam (OPS) and his few supporters think joining hands with the DMK is their best bet to defeat AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS). But T.T.V. Dhinakaran has another plan. He believes teaming up with actor Vijay’s TVK would give them more political mileage.
Dhinakaran, it is learnt, even reached out to Vijay’s team to talk about a possible alliance.
The only thing OPS and Dhinakaran seem to agree on is not letting EPS have it easy.
Support for ‘Sanatan Hindu Ekta Padyatra’
Bageshwar Dham priest Acharya Dhirendra Shastri’s ‘Sanatan Hindu Ekta Padyatra’ has drawn significant attention across western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi-NCR, with several BJP leaders, cricketers, and public figures either joining the march or releasing video statements in support.
The 10-day march began in Delhi on 7 November and will conclude in Mathura on 16 November. The yatra is getting support from various BJP governments, with authorities having issued advisories urging commuters traveling between Delhi and Mathura to use alternative routes.
Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, along with several local political leaders, cricketers, and well-known personalities, joined the procession Saturday as it reached Faridabad. Traffic movement on the National Highway was reportedly disrupted due to congestion at the Ballabhgarh Railway Overbridge. Given the narrow stretch, vehicles were halted intermittently on both the Delhi-Mathura and Mathura-Delhi routes, as well as near the Ballabhgarh flyover and Sohna Railway Overbridge. Cricketers including Kuldeep Yadav and Umesh Yadav too released video appeals supporting the padyatra.
On the other hand Dinesh Falahari, a self-claimed Hindutva leader and one of the petitioners in the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple case, has called for a complete ban on Muslim participation in the padyatra. Meanwhile, in Mathura, tourists are reportedly facing confusion and concern amid expectations of major traffic diversions once the yatra enters the city.
Satheesan refuses to share stage with Mamkootathil
Though Rahul Mamkootathil has started appearing at public events after a long gap, Kerala Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan still seems to have his apprehensions about the MLA from Palakkad.
Last week, on the final day of the ASHA workers’ protest outside the Kerala Secretariat, Mamkootathil’s presence seemed to have annoyed Satheesan.
The ASHA workers, who had been protesting day and night outside the Secretariat since February, ended their protest after the state government announced to increase their honourarium by Rs 1,000. The Congress had extended its support to the protest.
Satheesan, who was supposed to inaugurate the ASHA workers’ rally to pledge to continue their protests outside the state capital, didn’t show up to the event, while Mamkootathil was already on the stage. As the event progressed, organisers and Congress workers were seen getting calls, after which Mankootathil left the venue, saying he had a train to catch.
Minutes later, Satheesan arrived.
Mamkootathil was suspended from Congress’s primary membership in August following multiple allegations of sexual abuse. Though formal complaints weren’t registered, audio clips and social media posts surfaced, one of which had him allegedly coercing a woman to undergo abortion. He also resigned as president of the party’s youth wing in Kerala, and was absent from public engagements until recently, including from the Assembly.
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