The Evening Wrap: AIADMK breaks ties with BJP in Tamil Nadu, pulls out of NDA

The AIADMK on September 25 announced its decision to withdraw from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and snap ties with the BJP. Announcing this at the end of a meeting of the party’s district secretaries, headquarters secretaries, Members of Paliament and Members of Legislative Assembly at Chennai, K.P. Munusamy, the party’s deputy general secretary, told reporters that the State leadership of the BJP had been, for the last one year, “deliberately, in a planned manner and with motive, defaming” icons of the party such as C.N. Annadurai and Jayalalithaa and “criticising” policies of the party. Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the general secretary, presided over the meeting that lasted about an hour. Even though the resolution did not name any leader of the BJP, the allusion to the state president of the BJP, K. Annamalai, was obvious. Munusamy also announced that his party would form a coalition to face the Lok Sabha poll, scheduled for April-May 2024. The development followed the declaration by the party’s organisation secretary, D. Jayakumar on September 18 that the BJP was no longer its ally. However, he hastened to add that the alliance would be decided at the time of the election. Four days later, a delegation of the AIADMK went to New Delhi and interacted with senior leaders of the BJP. Even though the AIADMK’s relationship with Annamalai had not been smooth for more than a year, the latter’s observations on Annadurai a couple of weeks ago had provoked the latest round of spat between the two parties. Muzaffarnagar slapping case: SC questions quality of school education in U.P., points to ‘watered-down’ FIR against teacher A “watered-down” and delayed First Information Report (FIR) against a Muzaffarnagar school teacher, shown on video showering communal remarks on her seven-year-old Muslim student and goading his classmates to thrash him, raised questions in the Supreme Court about religious discrimination and quality of education in Uttar Pradesh. “The manner in which the incident has happened should shock the conscience of the State,” Justice A.S. Oka, heading a Division Bench, addressed the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday. Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, for the State, said the “communal angle was blown out of proportion”. “Something happened…” he began. “Not just ‘something’. This is very serious. The transcript of the video is there. If a teacher tells her students to hit another student because he belongs to a certain community, what is the quality and sensitivity of the education being given,” Justice Oka asked Nataraj. Justice Oka pointed out that the FIR registered after a “long delay” by the Uttar Pradesh Police had ignored statements made by the child’s father about objectionable remarks made by the teacher, Tripti Tyagi. Advocate Shadan Farasat, for activist-petitioner Tushar Gandhi, said the case was a “classic” one under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code. Instead, Tyagi, who was not arrested, was accused merely of causing hurt and insulting to “provoke breach of peace”. The court ordered the State to nominate a senior IPS officer to take charge and examine if the teacher had to be booked for promoting religious enmity and child abuse. The Bench said it wanted to know when exactly the chargesheet would be filed and how the State planned to protect witnesses, almost entirely children, in the case. “We want to know everything… The Right to Education Act mandates sensitive and quality education for children… What kind of quality education is being given here? Is this how students are taught? Is the child continuing in the same school? If the school is unauthorised, how are such schools allowed to run?” Justice Oka addressed Nataraj. The court said the State of Uttar Pradesh should take responsibility for the education of the child. Justice Oka directed the appointment of a senior and expert child counsellor to reach out, not only to the student in question, but also to his classmates, who were forced to hurt him. The court said the incident was “very serious” and was in direct violation of Article 21A (the fundamental right of a child to free and compulsory education) of the Constitution, the Right to Education Act and even the Uttar Pradesh Rules which tasks the local authorities to ensure that children do not face discrimination in classrooms. Uttar Pradesh attacked the petitioner, Gandhi, for using the tag that he was the “great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi” in all his Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitions. But Justice Oka said the court was concerned about the issue highlighted in the PIL petitions and not the person behind it. “In fact, in a case like this, the State should not be concerned about the locus standi of the petitioner. It should be more concerned about its own failure to put the criminal law in motion and the violation of the fundamental rights of the victims and their right to education… Even the Uttar Pradesh (Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education) Rules of 2011 has been violated,” the Supreme Court recorded in its order. The court impleaded the State’s Education Secretary. It listed the case next on October 30. The court directed the State to place on record measures taken by it to ensure better education and student counselling facilities. Gandhi had urged the court to formulate guidelines for the preventive and remedial measures within school systems in relation to violence committed against children, including students belonging to religious minorities. “Corporal punishment has become rampant in the Indian education system. The appalling and ghastly episode is preceded by a series of instances of violence against students belonging to marginalised communities,” the petition has said. The plea said violence in schools had an insidious effect even on students who witnessed it, creating an atmosphere of fear, anxiety, intolerance and polarisation. Pakistani players issued Indian visa for World Cup travel: ICC Members of the Pakistan cricket team were on Monday issued Indian visas for the ODI World Cup, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed, hours after the PCB raised serious concerns with the global body over the delay in the national team’s travel to Hyderabad. The visa clearance came less than 48 hours before Pakistan’s scheduled travel to India in the wee hours of September 27. They play their first warm-up game against New Zealand in Hyderabad on September 29. “Visas have been issued to Pakistan,” an ICC spokesperson told PTI. However, confusion remained in the Pakistan camp over the grant of visa. “We have not got the call from Indian High Commission yet over visa clearance. Member of our team is stationed there,” PCB spokesperon Umar Farooq told PTI. The confirmation from the ICC came after the PCB wrote to ICC CEO Geoff Allardice on Monday over the visa delay besides claiming the anxious wait has adversely impacted the team’s preparation for the 50-over showpiece. Pakistan were supposed to have a two-day team bonding session in Dubai before their scheduled arrival in Hyderabad on September 27 but was cancelled due to the uncertainty over Indian visa. The Babar Azam-led side plays two warm-up games and as many World Cup matches in Hyderabad starting with the practice fixture against New Zealand. In the letter addressed to Allardice, the PCB also claimed that its concerns over visa being granted to players, team officials, fans and journalists for the World Cup in India have not been addressed for more than three years. It also added that such inequitable treatment to Pakistan will not be acceptable. Reiterating those concerns, Farooq added: “There has been an extraordinary delays in getting clearance and securing Indian visas for the Pakistan team for ICC World Cup. “We have written to ICC raising our concerns about inequitable treatment towards Pakistan and reminding them of these obligations towards the World Cup. It’s a matter of disappointment that the Pakistan team has to go through the uncertainty ahead of the major tournament. “We have been reminding about their obligations from last three years and it has all come down to last two days with our first warm game scheduled on September 29. We were forced to cancel our original plan to organise team-building exercise in Dubai on the way to India. We have had to rework our plan and book new flights, but these plans are subject issuance of visas,” he said. Pakistan last visited India for the T20 World Cup in 2016. The arch-rivals only play each other in the Asia Cup and ICC tournaments due to the tense relations between the two countries. PCB sources informed that flight tickets of around 35 members have been re-booked now that the Dubai trip is off. The team will now leave for Hyderabad from Lahore in the wee hours of September 27 and reach Hyderabad via Dubai in the night. “The warm-up game is less than four days away and players are in a state of uncertainty. If the players are having to experience delays, one can only wonder what will happen to visa applications of fans and journalists,” a source said. Visa applications from Pakistan require clearances from three ministries -- home, external affairs and sports. Pakistan’s second warm-up game will be against Australia on October 3, also in Hyderabad. They will remain in the city for their opening two World Cup games against Netherlands and Sri Lanka on October 6 and 10 respectively before flying to Ahmedabad for the big game against hosts India on October 14. Only two members from the current Pakistan squad have toured India for cricket -- Mohammad Nawaz and Salman Agha. Maharashtra BJP chief’s audio clip on taking journos to dhabas to avoid negative coverage sparks row An audio clip of Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule in which he purportedly asked the party workers to take journalists to dhabas and treat them well to avoid negative publicity ahead of polls has gone viral, inviting allegations that BJP was trying to manage the media. These “instructions” were purportedly given by Bawankule in Ahmednagar where he was addressing a gathering of BJP workers on the management of poll booths. Under fire from the Opposition, Bawankule clarified that he only meant that journalists should be treated with respect and that the party workers should try to understand their opinions about the allocated booths. In the audio, Bawankule can be heard saying that “small-time video journalists running news portals and residing in your booth areas sometimes present a minor incident as if some blast has taken place”. “Prepare a list of such nuisance-creating journalists, including those from the electronic media or print, and invite them for a cup of tea to dhabas so that they would not write anything against us ahead of Maha Vijay 2024. You know what I mean by inviting them for a cup of tea,” he added. If there are some shortcomings Sujay Vikhe Patil, local BJP MP, is there, he added. “Take them to dhabas. Treat them well and ensure no negative news comes out against us. There should be positive news about us. Protect your own booths first,” Bawankule said. Reacting sharply, Maharashtra Opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar said, “Not all journalists are sold out. Do you think journalists accept crumbs? I can understand the restlessness of your leaders, both of the top level and local ones, as they could not suppress the voice of dissent. But you directly started making offers to journalists? This means, you (BJP) will try to offer some ‘crumbs’ to voters as well ahead of elections,” Wadettiwar alleged and said the people will tear apart the BJP for sure. In Brief: Scientific and technical institutions studying land subsidence in Joshimath have attributed the crisis to the hill town’s location on a slope over morainic deposits or loose sediments, population pressure, construction of multi-storeyed buildings and the absence of a system for proper disposal of water coming from the upper reaches. Though the reports are separate and approach the problem from different angles, they are largely in concurrence with each other on the combination of factors that may have led to the aggravation of the situation in Joshimath early this year. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 25 September 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( AIADMK breaks ties with BJP in Tamil Nadu, pulls out of NDA The [AIADMK on September 25 announced its decision to withdraw from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance]( (NDA) and snap ties with the BJP. Announcing this at the end of a meeting of the party’s district secretaries, headquarters secretaries, Members of Paliament and Members of Legislative Assembly at Chennai, K.P. Munusamy, the party’s deputy general secretary, told reporters that the State leadership of the BJP had been, for the last one year, “deliberately, in a planned manner and with motive, defaming” icons of the party such as C.N. Annadurai and Jayalalithaa and “criticising” policies of the party. Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the general secretary, presided over the meeting that lasted about an hour. Even though the resolution did not name any leader of the BJP, the allusion to the state president of the BJP, K. Annamalai, was obvious. Munusamy also announced that his party would form a coalition to face the Lok Sabha poll, scheduled for April-May 2024. The development followed the declaration by the party’s organisation secretary, D. Jayakumar on September 18 that the BJP was no longer its ally. However, he hastened to add that the alliance would be decided at the time of the election. Four days later, a delegation of the AIADMK went to New Delhi and interacted with senior leaders of the BJP. Even though the AIADMK’s relationship with Annamalai had not been smooth for more than a year, the latter’s observations on Annadurai a couple of weeks ago had provoked the latest round of spat between the two parties. Muzaffarnagar slapping case: SC questions quality of school education in U.P., points to ‘watered-down’ FIR against teacher [A “watered-down” and delayed First Information Report (FIR) against a Muzaffarnagar school teacher]( shown on video showering communal remarks on her seven-year-old Muslim student and goading his classmates to thrash him, raised questions in the Supreme Court about religious discrimination and quality of education in Uttar Pradesh. “The manner in which the incident has happened should shock the conscience of the State,” Justice A.S. Oka, heading a Division Bench, addressed the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday. Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, for the State, said the “communal angle was blown out of proportion”. “Something happened…” he began. “Not just ‘something’. This is very serious. The transcript of the video is there. If a teacher tells her students to hit another student because he belongs to a certain community, what is the quality and sensitivity of the education being given,” Justice Oka asked Nataraj. Justice Oka pointed out that the FIR registered after a “long delay” by the Uttar Pradesh Police had ignored statements made by the child’s father about objectionable remarks made by the teacher, Tripti Tyagi. Advocate Shadan Farasat, for activist-petitioner Tushar Gandhi, said the case was a “classic” one under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code. Instead, Tyagi, who was not arrested, was accused merely of causing hurt and insulting to “provoke breach of peace”. The court ordered the State to nominate a senior IPS officer to take charge and examine if the teacher had to be booked for promoting religious enmity and child abuse. The Bench said it wanted to know when exactly the chargesheet would be filed and how the State planned to protect witnesses, almost entirely children, in the case. “We want to know everything… The Right to Education Act mandates sensitive and quality education for children… What kind of quality education is being given here? Is this how students are taught? Is the child continuing in the same school? If the school is unauthorised, how are such schools allowed to run?” Justice Oka addressed Nataraj. The court said the State of Uttar Pradesh should take responsibility for the education of the child. Justice Oka directed the appointment of a senior and expert child counsellor to reach out, not only to the student in question, but also to his classmates, who were forced to hurt him. The court said the incident was “very serious” and was in direct violation of Article 21A (the fundamental right of a child to free and compulsory education) of the Constitution, the Right to Education Act and even the Uttar Pradesh Rules which tasks the local authorities to ensure that children do not face discrimination in classrooms. Uttar Pradesh attacked the petitioner, Gandhi, for using the tag that he was the “great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi” in all his Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitions. But Justice Oka said the court was concerned about the issue highlighted in the PIL petitions and not the person behind it. “In fact, in a case like this, the State should not be concerned about the locus standi of the petitioner. It should be more concerned about its own failure to put the criminal law in motion and the violation of the fundamental rights of the victims and their right to education… Even the Uttar Pradesh (Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education) Rules of 2011 has been violated,” the Supreme Court recorded in its order. The court impleaded the State’s Education Secretary. It listed the case next on October 30. The court directed the State to place on record measures taken by it to ensure better education and student counselling facilities. Gandhi had urged the court to formulate guidelines for the preventive and remedial measures within school systems in relation to violence committed against children, including students belonging to religious minorities. “Corporal punishment has become rampant in the Indian education system. The appalling and ghastly episode is preceded by a series of instances of violence against students belonging to marginalised communities,” the petition has said. The plea said violence in schools had an insidious effect even on students who witnessed it, creating an atmosphere of fear, anxiety, intolerance and polarisation. Pakistani players issued Indian visa for World Cup travel: ICC [Members of the Pakistan cricket team were on Monday issued Indian visas for the ODI World Cup]( the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed, hours after the PCB raised serious concerns with the global body over the delay in the national team’s travel to Hyderabad. The visa clearance came less than 48 hours before Pakistan’s scheduled travel to India in the wee hours of September 27. They play their first warm-up game against New Zealand in Hyderabad on September 29. “Visas have been issued to Pakistan,” an ICC spokesperson told PTI. However, confusion remained in the Pakistan camp over the grant of visa. “We have not got the call from Indian High Commission yet over visa clearance. Member of our team is stationed there,” PCB spokesperon Umar Farooq told PTI. The confirmation from the ICC came after the PCB wrote to ICC CEO Geoff Allardice on Monday over the visa delay besides claiming the anxious wait has adversely impacted the team’s preparation for the 50-over showpiece. Pakistan were supposed to have a two-day team bonding session in Dubai before their scheduled arrival in Hyderabad on September 27 but was cancelled due to the uncertainty over Indian visa. The Babar Azam-led side plays two warm-up games and as many World Cup matches in Hyderabad starting with the practice fixture against New Zealand. In the letter addressed to Allardice, the PCB also claimed that its concerns over visa being granted to players, team officials, fans and journalists for the World Cup in India have not been addressed for more than three years. It also added that such inequitable treatment to Pakistan will not be acceptable. Reiterating those concerns, Farooq added: “There has been an extraordinary delays in getting clearance and securing Indian visas for the Pakistan team for ICC World Cup. “We have written to ICC raising our concerns about inequitable treatment towards Pakistan and reminding them of these obligations towards the World Cup. It’s a matter of disappointment that the Pakistan team has to go through the uncertainty ahead of the major tournament. “We have been reminding about their obligations from last three years and it has all come down to last two days with our first warm game scheduled on September 29. We were forced to cancel our original plan to organise team-building exercise in Dubai on the way to India. We have had to rework our plan and book new flights, but these plans are subject issuance of visas,” he said. Pakistan last visited India for the T20 World Cup in 2016. The arch-rivals only play each other in the Asia Cup and ICC tournaments due to the tense relations between the two countries. PCB sources informed that flight tickets of around 35 members have been re-booked now that the Dubai trip is off. The team will now leave for Hyderabad from Lahore in the wee hours of September 27 and reach Hyderabad via Dubai in the night. “The warm-up game is less than four days away and players are in a state of uncertainty. If the players are having to experience delays, one can only wonder what will happen to visa applications of fans and journalists,” a source said. Visa applications from Pakistan require clearances from three ministries -- home, external affairs and sports. Pakistan’s second warm-up game will be against Australia on October 3, also in Hyderabad. They will remain in the city for their opening two World Cup games against Netherlands and Sri Lanka on October 6 and 10 respectively before flying to Ahmedabad for the big game against hosts India on October 14. Only two members from the current Pakistan squad have toured India for cricket -- Mohammad Nawaz and Salman Agha. Maharashtra BJP chief’s audio clip on taking journos to dhabas to avoid negative coverage sparks row An [audio clip of Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule]( in which he purportedly asked the party workers to take journalists to dhabas and treat them well to avoid negative publicity ahead of polls has gone viral, inviting allegations that BJP was trying to manage the media. These “instructions” were purportedly given by Bawankule in Ahmednagar where he was addressing a gathering of BJP workers on the management of poll booths. Under fire from the Opposition, Bawankule clarified that he only meant that journalists should be treated with respect and that the party workers should try to understand their opinions about the allocated booths. In the audio, Bawankule can be heard saying that “small-time video journalists running news portals and residing in your booth areas sometimes present a minor incident as if some blast has taken place”. “Prepare a list of such nuisance-creating journalists, including those from the electronic media or print, and invite them for a cup of tea to dhabas so that they would not write anything against us ahead of Maha Vijay 2024. You know what I mean by inviting them for a cup of tea,” he added. If there are some shortcomings Sujay Vikhe Patil, local BJP MP, is there, he added. “Take them to dhabas. Treat them well and ensure no negative news comes out against us. There should be positive news about us. Protect your own booths first,” Bawankule said. Reacting sharply, Maharashtra Opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar said, “Not all journalists are sold out. Do you think journalists accept crumbs? I can understand the restlessness of your leaders, both of the top level and local ones, as they could not suppress the voice of dissent. But you directly started making offers to journalists? This means, you (BJP) will try to offer some ‘crumbs’ to voters as well ahead of elections,” Wadettiwar alleged and said the people will tear apart the BJP for sure. In Brief: [Scientific and technical institutions studying land subsidence in Joshimath]( have attributed the crisis to the hill town’s location on a slope over morainic deposits or loose sediments, population pressure, construction of multi-storeyed buildings and the absence of a system for proper disposal of water coming from the upper reaches. Though the reports are separate and approach the problem from different angles, they are largely in concurrence with each other on the combination of factors that may have led to the aggravation of the situation in Joshimath early this year. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [Sign up for free]( Today’s Top Picks [[Do not intend to run Manipur administration; we can scrap Gita Mittal Committee or you can trust it, CJI tells petitioners] Do not intend to run Manipur administration; we can scrap Gita Mittal Committee or you can trust it, CJI tells petitioners]( [[India-Canada relations sour: Spotlight on immigrants, foreign students, workers and trade | Data] India-Canada relations sour: Spotlight on immigrants, foreign students, workers and trade | Data]( [[As extreme downpours trigger flooding around the world, scientists take a closer look at global warming’s role] As extreme downpours trigger flooding around the world, scientists take a closer look at global warming’s role]( [[Today’s Cache | Most NFT collections have lost value; Prime Video to make ad free viewing more expensive; Britain aspires to be an AI leader] Today’s Cache | Most NFT collections have lost value; Prime Video to make ad free viewing more expensive; Britain aspires to be an AI leader]( Copyright @ 2023, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( Manage your newsletter subscription preferences [here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](