Two persons were killed and at least 30 injured on Wednesday in a stampede outside the Rajaji Hall here as hundreds of thousands thronged for a final glimpse of DMK leader M. Karunanidhi, witnesses said.

"There has been heavy jostling and pushing and pulling in the crowd since morning," one man at the site said, explaining what led to the stampede.

Congress MP B.K. Hariprasad was on Wednesday declared as the opposition candidate for the post of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, election for which will be held on Thursday.

Five-time Tamil Nadu CM and DMK Chief M Karunanidhi, who passed away aged 94, became the first CM on August 15, 1974, to hoist the National Flag. Earlier, only Governors hoisted the Tricolour on Republic Day and Independence Day.

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday condoled the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, describing him as a "father figure" who always showed great kindness and consideration to her.

In a letter to Karnuanidhi's son M.K. Stalin, Gandhi wrote: "I am deeply saddened at the passing away of your revered and beloved father...

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday said the Madras High Court judgement to allow the burial of DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi at Marina Beach was a "setback for proxy callers".

"Huge setback for proxy callers of Delhi Durbar conspiring to deny Anna his rightful burial place. Rahulji strongly supported the idea of a memorial for Karunanidhi at Marina. Why are central/state governments silent?" Surjewala tweeted.

Two Indian businessmen who were abducted in Malaysia earlier in August have been rescued, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said.

"R.P. Vaidya and K.P. Vaidya who had gone to Malaysia for business purposes were abducted on August 3," Sushma Swaraj tweeted late on Tuesday.

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday was adjourned for the day after paying tributes to the late DMK President M. Karunanidhi.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan read out an obituary reference and paid homage to the late former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Karunanidhi, 94, passed away on Tuesday.

Sneha Reddy, who graduated from IIT-Hyderabad this year, has bagged a whopping Rs 1.2-crore pay package (per annum) from Google, the highest received by a student in the IIT-H’s history since it was established in 2008.

The highest package was offered to a student until May was Rs 40 lakh and the average package stood at Rs 11.5 lakh.