BJP Tamil Nadu chief Annamalai, party leaders detained
Chennai (PTI): BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai and many functionaries were detained here on Monday by the police ahead of the party's protest against the alleged irregularities in state-run liquor retailer TASMAC.
The saffron party had announced a picketing protest of the TASMAC headquarters in the city over the alleged Rs 1,000 crore irregularities, as claimed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently.
Annamalai, clad in a black shirt, was detained near his house along with his supporters by the police.
In a social media post, the BJP state chief alleged senior party leaders including Tamilisai Soundararajan have been placed "under house arrest" by the police.
Mahila Morcha chief and Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, Vinoj P Selvam and Amar Prasad Reddy were among the senior functionaries detained.
Annamalai said there have been "irregularities of Rs 1000 crore," in the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) and asserted the party will continue to protest on the matter.
The ED had earlier said it has found "multiple irregularities" in the operations of TASMAC, including "manipulation" in the tender processes and "unaccounted" cash transactions worth Rs 1,000 crore through distillery companies.
The federal agency had claimed it got 'evidence' suggesting these corrupt practices after it raided the employees, corporate offices of distilleries and plants of TASMAC on March 6.
There were ‘kickbacks’ involved, it had claimed.
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Entry to all ASI sites to be free on International Museum Day tomorrow
New Delhi, May 17 (PTI): Entry to all sites and museums under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) across the country will be free on Sunday in view of the International Museum Day.
There are 3,698 protected monuments and sites, and 52 museums under the ambit of the ASI.
"The ASI is pleased to announce that entry to all ASI monuments and museums across the country will be free on May 18, on the occasion of International Museum Day," the Culture Ministry said in a statement.
The International Museum Day highlights the vital role that museums play in preserving cultural heritage, promoting education, and fostering dialogue across communities and generations.
This year to encourage wider public participation, the ASI is offering free access to its network of 52 site museums and all ticketed monuments across the country, which house some of India's most treasured archaeological artefacts, from prehistoric tools and sculptures to medieval inscriptions, and more, the statement said.
"This initiative seeks to deepen public engagement with India's rich cultural legacy and to provide a meaningful platform for people to reconnect with history and heritage," it said.
The ASI also has a dedicated Museum Wing which deals with maintenance and management of its site museums, which includes one at Sarnath site (1910) being the earliest in the series of archaeological site museums located across the country, the ministry said.
The concept of archaeological site museums sought to preserve and display the excavated and movable artefacts near the site so that the displayed objects don't lose its context and may be studied by researchers and visitors alike while visiting the site, it said.
Recently, India's first underground museum at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Humayun's Tomb was inaugurated, along with the Virtual Experiential Museum at Man Mahal Observatory, Varanasi and Archaeological site of Lalitagiri at Odisha, the ministry added.
ASI site museums are being upgraded to facilitate the need of every section of the society, and with modern interventions like AR-VR (augmented reality-virtual reality) also being incorporated to give visitors a holistic experience, officials said.
