1. Rajinikanth Condemns S Ve Shekher
Actor Rajinikanth on Monday condemned BJP leader S Ve Shekher for sharing a Facebook post (since deleted) that made derogatory comments about women journalists.
Speaking to reporters outside his residence here ahead of a personal trip to the US, Mr. Rajinikanth said, “Whether he (Mr Shekher) did it knowingly or unknowingly, it is an unpardonable crime.”
On the ongoing investigation into the attempt to lure college girls by suspended assistant professor Nirmala Devi of the Devanga Arts College, the actor said that if the allegations were proven true, the harshest of punishments should be given to the accused. But he refused to comment when reporters asked him about the accused seeking to drag the Governor’s name into the scandal.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. Alliance Call With BJP Only During Polls: AIADMK
A day after the AIADMK mouthpiece Namadhu Puratchi Thalavi Amma carried an article that said future alliance with the BJP was inevitable and a compulsion of the time and both were like a “double-barrel gun”, the party on Monday sought to clarify the matter, saying that any decision on an alliance would be taken only during elections.
“We have been working as an independent party on the floor of Parliament and not in alliance (with the BJP),” senior party leader and Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha M Thambidurai said
(Source: The New Indian Express)
3. Stop Moral Policing and Harassment, Say IIT Madras Students
Students of IIT Madras on Monday observed a symbolic silent and peaceful ‘Hug Day’, protesting what they termed as increasing moral policing and sexual harassment on the campus. More than 50 students gathered outside the office of the Dean of Students around 11 am and hugged each other, after staging a sit-in demonstration.
This comes within a week of a female student being shamed by a non-teaching staff member, who filmed her hugging a male friend, and gave a moral lecture calling her act “indecent and immoral”.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
4. Chennai Airport Slashes User Development Fee
The Chennai airport will be charging just Rs 69 per passenger as user development fee (UDF) from 1 May. This is a steep reduction from the present Rs 166 for domestic passengers and Rs 667 for international passengers. However, experts say the airlines may not immediately pass on the benefit by lowering the fares due to increasing fuel prices.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has reduced fees in wake of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India passing an order saying that the user development fee is reduced from 1 May, 2018.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
5. Verdict on Nalini’s Plea Reserved
The Madras High Court on Monday reserved its verdict on a writ appeal preferred by S Nalini, convict in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, seeking premature release on humanitarian grounds by invoking powers conferred on the Governor under Article 161 of the Constitution since she had already completed over 25 years in prison.
A Division Bench of Justices K K Sasidharan and R Subramanian heard the elaborate arguments advanced by Advocate General Vijay Narayan, who opposed the appeal citing pendency of a similar issue before the Supreme Court, as well as the appellant’s counsel M Radhakrishnan before stating that its judgment shall be delivered on Friday.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Robbery at Gun Point in Chennai Bank; Public, Police Nab Thief Within Minutes
A middle aged man who stole Rs 6 lakh from Indian Bank in Indira Nagar, Chennai, on Monday afternoon at gun point was arrested by the police.
According to police, around 1 pm Manish Kumar Yadav, wearing striped T-shirt entered the bank.
“He was wearing a helmet and went into the manager’s room. He took out two guns and threatened few people in the bank. He then took the money and ran out,” said Ilayaraja from Tiruvarur who was inside the bank.
Poongavanam, who was there in the bank said that he threatened people not to leave the bank. “He was speaking to someone on Bluetooth device,” he claimed.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. Meet on Tropical Diseases in Animals
A two-day international conference on update on diagnosis of endoparasitic and vector-borne parasitic diseases of companion animals in the tropics was held at the Madras Veterinary College.
The meet was organised by the Tropical Council for Companion Animal Parasites (TroCCAP), Australia and the College’s Department of Veterinary Parasitology.
The council chose MVC as the first venue for its outreach training programme.
Future training programmes will be held in Vietnam, Africa and South America. Tanuvas Vice-Chancellor C Balachandran called for a common diagnostic regimen to treat parasitic diseases in small animals.
Veterinary researchers and companion animal practitioners from various States participated in the conference.
(Source: The Hindu)
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