Dhinakaran defends walking out of NDA
Thanjavur (PTI): Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam chief TTV Dhinakaran on Tuesday defended walking out of the National Democratic Alliance and hit out at AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami.
Speaking to reporters here, Dhinakaran said his party, the AMMK, had been a part of the NDA in Tamil Nadu when the AIADMK was not a part of it.
After the AIADMK revived its alliance with the BJP this year in April, the AMMK continued to be with the NDA for about 4 months before finally deciding to snap ties.
Such a move to wait and stay put in the NDA, despite Palaniswami-led AIADMK's entry into the alliance, was considering feedback from well-wishers and in the hope of certain positive developments.
"That was the reason, otherwise how could we accept Palaniswami? Can AMMK accept it? Further, he said: "We are very clear. We went to the NDA when Palaniswami (AIADMK) was not part of it."
Supporters of Palaniswami are aware of the reason for AIADMK's defeat in the 2021 Assembly election, he said, adding AMMK's presence in the electoral race resulted in the defeat of the AIADMK in at least 29 constituencies in 2021 Assembly election.
He said the reason for the AIADMK's defeat was the expulsion of leaders, including O Panneerselvam.
Dhinakaran said: "Palaniswami's work (like refusal to take back expelled leaders) will be favourable to the DMK and that is why Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin has said that Palaniswami should continue as AIADMK chief and that, it will make the DMK's task easy. Udhyanidhi has nicely summarised the situation...the reason for all the problems is Palaniswami."
Dhinakaran said that in 2017, the 18 AIADMK MLAs, who supported him, had only batted for dropping Palaniswami.
At that time, Palaniswami was the chief minister and the 18 MLAs were for choosing another leader for the position of chief minister.
Such MLAs, hence, had not gone against the AIADMK government but only lost confidence on Palaniswami, he said.
Also, seeking to rebut Palaniswami's comment thanking the BJP (Centre) for protecting the AIADMK government following J Jayalalithaa's demise in 2016, Dhinakaran said it was the party's 122 MLAs who saved the government.
On September 15, Palaniswami ruled out the possibility of re-induction of expelled leaders like O Panneerselvam.
"You want others to be inducted into the party again? AIADMK is the worker's asset. Another person-- you abducted 18 of our party MLAs to topple the AIADMK government. They want to be included in the party. Who will accept this?" he said, in a veiled reference to Dhinakaran, with whom 18 dissident AIADMK MLAs had sided.
Also, Palaniswami had said that after Jayalalithaa's death some attempted to swallow the party and topple the AIADMK government (apparently targeting Dhinakaran) and it was those at the Centre who guarded the party.
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Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
