AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam's wife passes away
Chennai, Sept 1: AIADMK coordinator and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam's wife Vijayalakshmi passed away here on Wednesday at a hospital following a brief illness.
Leaders cutting across party lines including DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin visited the hospital and offered their condolences to Panneerselvam.
She was 66 and died of heart attack at a private hospital, where she was admitted for treatment days ago, party sources said.
Vijayalakshmi had an acute heart attack this morning and despite treatment she passed away, GEM Hospital said in a statement.
The AIADMK leader's wife had an attack when she was set to be discharged on Wednesday as she recovered following 10 days of treatment, the hospital said.
Chief Minister Stalin, Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan, AIADMK co-coordinator K Palaniswami visited the hospital and extended their condolences and sympathies to Panneerselvam and his son O P Raveendranath, who is also the AIADMK Lok Sabha MP from Theni.
V K Sasikala, aide of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and who was eased out of the AIADMK years ago visited Panneerselvam in the hospital and extended her condolences. Her visit is seen as significant since she has been maintaining that she would make a comeback to the AIADMK, which is staunchly opposed by the party brass.
Vijayalakshmi's body has been taken to Panneerselvam's native Periyakulam in Theni district and the funeral would be held there following public homage, sources added.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit offered his condolences to Panneerselvam and to the bereaved family and said he prayed to God to rest her soul in eternal peace and "give strength to all family members to overcome this unfathomable loss." In his condolence message, Stalin said he was shocked and grieved to learn about the demise of Panneerselvam's wife.
Palaniswami said he was anguished to learn of her death.
In a statement, the top AIADMK leader said he prayed to the Almighty to give strength to "my brother Panneerselvam to bear this agony." Extending his condolences to Panneerselvam and his family, the leader of opposition in the state assembly said he prayed for her soul to rest in peace.
Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan was among several others who condoled Vijayalakshmi's death. Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief K S Alagiri, PMK leader G K Mani, State Secretaries of CPI and CPI(M), R Mutharasan, and K Balakrishnan respectively, VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan, BJP MLAs Vanathi Srinivasan, M R Gandhi, Dravidar Kazhagam chief K Veeramani visited the hospital and met Panneerselvam to condole his spouse's death.
Former Ministers including S P Velumani and C Vijayabaskar, AIADMK leaders including K P Munusamy were among the party office-bearers who turned up at the hospital.
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Karnataka Muslim Convention to be held in Bengaluru on May 16
Muslim organisations to release report on Congress govt’s three-year performance
Bengaluru: Major Muslim organisations and federations in Karnataka have decided to organise a large public convention titled ‘Karnataka Muslim Convention’ at Town Hall in Bengaluru on May 16. During the convention, a comprehensive report reviewing the three-year performance of the Congress government under the theme “What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?” will be released.
According to a statement issued on Friday, no politicians will be invited to the convention. The report will be submitted to the government and all MLAs after the event.
The convention is being held at a time when the Congress government is nearing the completion of three years in office on May 20. Muslim organisations have expressed dissatisfaction, alleging that despite extending strong support to the Congress in bringing it to power, the community is being neglected.
The Convention is being organised at time when there are concerns over inadequate political representation for Muslims, alleged neglect of community demands, and the suspension of senior Muslim leaders who had worked for the party for decades.
The organisers said the convention aims to raise questions on what the Congress government has delivered so far and what further steps are expected from the government.
The decision to hold the convention was taken during a meeting held on May 6 at A J International Hotel in Shivajinagar, Bengaluru. Representatives of major Muslim organisations, associations, ulema bodies, federations, and members of the ad hoc committee of Karnataka Rajya Muslim Okkoota attended the meeting.
More than 75 representatives and delegates, including senior ulemas, jamaat leaders, lawyers, retired officials, journalists and members of the KRMO ad hoc committee, participated in the discussions.
Members of the KRMO ad hoc committee’s report preparation team and experts from different sectors presented a detailed report on the Congress government’s three-year performance. The report examined promises made to Muslims on ten major issues, the extent to which they were fulfilled, pending promises, alleged discrimination in representation, and the demands now being placed before the government.
The report covered issues such as the hijab ban, reservation cancellation, hate speech and hate crimes, budget allocation, political representation, waqf matters, the anti-cow slaughter law, anti-conversion law, scholarships and educational grants.
Participants offered suggestions and recommendations on various points, and necessary corrections to the report were accepted after detailed discussions.
The meeting also reportedly expressed strong dissatisfaction over the manner in which the Congress government has treated the Muslim community. Participants are said to have opined that if the government and the Congress party continue in the same manner, the community should keep its political options open.
It was later decided that the report would be officially released at the large public convention on May 16 under the title “Karnataka Muslim Convention – What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?”
The organisers appealed to people from all districts of the state to participate in large numbers and send a strong message to the government and the Congress party through the convention.
They also decided that all organisations, jamaats and associations should work towards ensuring participation from every district in Karnataka.
The statement reiterated that no politicians would be invited to the May 16 convention and that the report on the Congress government’s three-year performance would be submitted to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, ministers and MLAs after the event.
