DMK flays EC for not announcing bypolls in TN
Chennai, Oct 7 : DMK chief M K Stalin Sunday flayed the Election Commission for not announcing byelections to two Tamil Nadu assembly constituencies citing monsoon as the reason and said it was not a 'justifiable' decision.
Expressing 'surprise' at the EC's decision, he said by-elections had been held in the state in the past during the North East Monsoon season, between October-December.
The bypoll for RK Nagar constituency, held to fill the vacancy caused by the death of late chief minister Jayalalithaa, was conducted only during the monsoon season in December last year, he pointed out.
The Election Commission while announcing poll schedule for five states and byelections in Karnataka Saturday had said Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan had written a letter asking the commission not to announce the poll dates as there was forecast of cyclones and rains in the state.
"The EC putting off bypolls citing a letter by the state Chief Secretary and the monsoon does not appear to be a unbiased and justifiable decision," Stalin said in a statement.
Bypolls are due in Thiruvarur and Thirupparankundram assembly constituencies which fell vacant following the demise of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi on August 7 and AIADMK MLA AK Bose on August 2 respectively.
Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat had said the EC would announce the bypoll after ascertaining the situation.
Stalin said bypolls for three assembly constituencies in the state when Jayalalithaa was hospitalised in 2016 were also held during monsoon season in November.
Claiming that the ruling AIADMK was afraid of facing elections, he accused it of avoiding the bypolls through the Chief Secretary.
Senior AIADMK leader and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai sought to dismiss the opposition party's charge and said the EC was an independent and powerful body which none can influence.
Defending the Chief Secretary's communication, Revenue Minister R B Udhayakumar said in Madurai that the government has the responsibility to apprise the commission of the prevailing situation in the state.
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'Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane...': Tharoor takes dig at failed US-Iran talks in Pakistan
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New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday took a swipe at the "failed" US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan with an Urdu couplet, saying only god knows now what will happen.
"Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane; Na woh mane, na ye mane (only god knows what will happen now as both sides did not agree)," Tharoor said on X, tagging a post-talks video clip of US Vice President J D Vance, who led the American delegation at the negotiations in Islamabad.
The United States and Iran failed to reach a peace deal at their historic 21-hour talks in Pakistan, leaving the fate of a tenuous two-week ceasefire in doubt, with both sides attempting to hold each other responsible for the collapse of the negotiations.
अब क्या होगा, ये रब जाने
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 13, 2026
ना वो माने, ना ये माने https://t.co/DYrXpa7C8h
Vance said the Iranian side did not accept Washington's terms for ending the war even as the US presented its "final and best offer".
Hours after the talks collapsed, US President Donald Trump said on social media that the negotiations with Tehran failed as "Iran is unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions".
Trump said the US Navy will actively interdict any vessel in international waters found to have paid tolls to Iran for transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Iranian negotiation team, said it is for the US to decide whether it can "earn our trust or not".
The Iranian foreign ministry, without elaborating, said the US side resorted to "excessive" and "illegal demands".
The failure to reach an agreement has dimmed the prospect of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to stabilise the global energy marke
