QChennai: TTV Dhinakaran to Launch Party on 15 March & More

Here is your roundup of the top stories from Chennai.

In November, the Election Commission allotted the ‘two leaves’ symbol to the faction led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami but Dhinakaran anyway managed to pull off a massive victory in the RK Nagar bypoll.

(Photo Courtesy: Tea Talk)

1. Dhinakaran All Set to Float Party on 15 March in Madurai

TTV Dhinakaran to float his own party this month.

Buoyed by the order of the Delhi High Court, which observed that an election symbol, “preferably Pressure Cooker”, be allotted to him, dissident AIADMK leader and RK Nagar MLA TTV Dhinakaran is all set to launch his new political party at Melur in Madurai district on 15 March. The new outfit would serve as a platform “until the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is retrieved completely,” Dhinakaran said in a statement on Sunday, 11 March. At 9 am on 15 March, the new party’s name and flag would be announced, followed by the hoisting of the party’s flag.

Incidentally, the state Legislative Assembly is also convening on 15 March. A day before she surrendered before a Bengaluru prison following her conviction in the disproportionate assets case in February last year, Jayalalithaa’s former aide VK Sasikala appointed her nephew Dhinakaran as the party’s deputy general secretary.

(Source: The Hindu)

2. Stalin Urges Governor to Quash Assembly Secretary’s Appointment

Stalin said, “Unlawful appointments of this nature will scuttle administration and tarnish the image of the authorities”.

Opposition leader and DMK working president MK Stalin on Sunday, 11 March, urged Governor Banwarilal Purohit to quash the appointment of K Srinivasan as the Assembly Secretary, alleging nepotism in his elevation to the post. Truly capable officials were brushed aside, Stalin alleged.

The DMK leader said Srinivasan was legally mandated to receive promotion only up to the post of Additional Secretary by virtue of his being part of the general administrative section of the Assembly. “The cascade of multiple promotions, which has now resulted in this appointment, is against natural justice,” he added.

(Source: The Hindu)

3. UN Watchdog Begins 3-Day Audit at Airport

Preparations for the audit have been going on at the airport for nearly two months now.

The UN aviation watchdog, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), began its three-day security audit at the Chennai airport on Saturday as part of taking stock of the regulatory framework and the security system. A four-member team will review every single security related issue, including the policy in place, equipment and the level of security in the perimeter of the airport.

On Saturday, the team visited the cargo area and the international terminal. “On Sunday, it saw the operational area of the airport, the number of gates in the area, how tight the security was on the perimeter and the number of CISF personnel deployed,” an official said. The team also assessed whether the training of security personnel, the regulatory framework, passenger and baggage security were being followed according to internationally prescribed norms.

(Source: The Hindu)

4. Prayer Meeting Held for Sridevi

A prayer meet was conducted in Chennai for the film fraternity to pay their condolences.

A prayer meeting was organised for actor Sridevi, who died recently, by her family in the city on Sunday evening. The private meeting saw several members of the Tamil film fraternity attend and offer their condolences. Actors Suriya, Arun Vijay, Prabhu Deva, Jyotika, Meena, Raadika Sarath Kumar and Suhasini Mani Ratnam, fashion designer Manish Malhotra and Lata Rajinikanth were among those who attended the meeting.

Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor and their daughters Jhanvi and Khushi had come for the meeting from Mumbai. The South Indian Artists Association (SIAA) organised a condolence meeting on Sunday morning in which several office-bearers and members, including actors Bhagyaraj, Sivakumar, Sripriya and Ambika were present.

(Source: The Hindu)

5. NET, SET Association Demands Transparency in Appointments

The association members urged the Mother Teresa University for Women to upload the NET, SET question papers for the last three years, the details of the successful candidates along with subject-wise marks and cut-off scores.

Aspirants to assistant professor posts in government colleges are demanding mandatory written test for all applicants, including those who have PhDs.

The NET, SET Association has demanded that “the comprehensive knowledge of each candidate” must be tested to assess their abilities. The association told reporters on Sunday that it was for total transparency in recruitment, demanding that universities upload on their websites the criteria for shortlisting candidates, their qualification, experience and marks awarded. It pointed to the Teachers Recruitment Board fiasco, which led to a prolonged court battle.

(Source: The Hindu)

6. Child Rights Body Thwarts 63 Marriages in Nine Months

Poor performance in studies is one of the main reasons of abuse of children by parents and teachers.  

The Commission rescued 132 children from child labour, mainly from the fishing nets sector in Kanniyakumari district. Most of the rescued children hailed from the northeastern states. “The employers promised their families that they would educate the children and pay them for the work they do. But this did not happen and the children ended up being exploited,” said Nirmala. The children were reportedly made to work for over 10 hours a day and earned only paltry sums.

The TNSCPCR also recorded 1,093 cases of violence committed against children at home, in schools and public places. These incidents include physical and emotional violence by parents, teachers and miscreants in public places.

(Source: The Hindu)

7. Taking the Drudgery out of Syllabus

There was often an increased focus on science subjects which had led to arts and social sciences being sidelined.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development has said that it is inviting suggestions from the public on how the school curriculum can be modified to aid all round development of students. This follows a recent announcement by HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar that the NCERT syllabus will be reduced by half from 2019.

The move has been welcomed by school heads. “The curriculum that the students in higher classes now have is similar to what they normally would study in their initial years in college. There is too much academic pressure on those who are taking board exams, as a result of which there is little or no time for life skills or anything else that can contribute to a holistic schooling experience,” said C. Satish, Director of the Paavai group of institutions.

(Source: The Hindu)