Articles by Laasya Shekhar

Meghala Kumari is a software engineer working in Chennai. But this is not what her life was always like. As a child in a poor family, she had to work part time to support her education even as a minor. All through her early years, she was completely ignorant about anything called a community certificate, a document that could have made things easy for her. "If I had my community certificate, I could have availed the concession in the annual fees, besides getting other benefits such as free school bag and uniform," says Meghala, who got the certificate only during…

Translated by KJ Krishna Kumar 2016-17 நிதி ஆண்டு அறிக்கையின் படி "டாஸ்மாக்" அரசு மது விற்பனை நிறுவனத்தின் மொத்த வரவு : 31,247 கோடி , நிகர லாபம் 25.23 கோடி ஆகும். இது 2016 டிசம்பர் உச்ச நீதி மன்றம் 220 மீட்டர் அருகாமையில் உள்ள மதுபான கடைகளை இடமாற்றம் செய்ய இட்ட ஆணையின் படி 3321 டாஸ்மாக் கடைகளை தற்காலிகமாக மூடியதினால் வந்த இழப்பையும் தாண்டி. மது விற்பனையால் அரசுக்கு கொழுத்த லாபம் வந்த நேரத்திலும், மதுவால் பாதிக்கப் பட்டோர்களுக்கு திருத்தம் செய்ய என்ன செய்திருக்கிறது / போதுமான அளவு ஏற்பாடுகள் செய்திருக்கிறதா? சமூகநீதி மற்றும் தன்மேம்பாடு அமைச்சகம் நியமித்து AIIMS'சின் தேசிய போதைப்பொருள் மறுசீரமைப்பு மையம் செய்த ஆய்வின்படி மதுவினால் வரும் பிரச்சனைகளில் முதன்மை மாநிலமாக உள்ளது தமிழ்நாடு போதையடிமை மறுசீரமைப்பு மையங்கள் எல்லாம் ஒரு அரசு மருத்துவமனையோடோ, பொதுநல மையங்களோடோ இணைக்கப்பட்டு இருப்பதால்,…

Rahul Ramesh Shewale is with the Shiv Sena Party and is the incumbent Member of Parliament from Mumbai South Central constituency. He defeated the sitting MP Eknath Gaikwad from the Congress in the 2014 lok Sabha polls, with a margin of 1,38,180 votes. While Shewale secured 381008 votes Gaikwad got 242828 votes. The stage this time is set for yet another battle between Shewale and Gaikwad, and 28 other contestants from the South Central Constituency. First-time MP in 2014, Rahul had been Chairman of the standing committee of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for four terms till 2014. He is an active…

Rahul Ramesh Shewale is with the Shiv Sena Party and is the incumbent Member of Parliament from Mumbai South Central constituency. He defeated the sitting MP Eknath Gaikwad from the Congress in the 2014 lok Sabha polls, with a margin of 1,38,180 votes. While Shewale secured 381008 votes Gaikwad got 242828 votes. The stage this time is set for yet another battle between Shewale and Gaikwad, and 28 other contestants from the South Central Constituency. First-time MP in 2014, Rahul had been Chairman of the standing committee of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for four terms till 2014. He is an active…

Thiruvallur Parliamentary constituency is comprised of six assembly constituencies -- Madhavaram, Poonamalle, Avadi, Ponneri, Gummidipoondi and Thiruvallur. Once part of the Sriperumbudur constituency, Thiruvallur was carved out as a separate constituency in 2008 after delimitation. A total of 20 candidates are contesting from various political parties and as independent candidates from Chennai South. The Election Commission of India has rejected 17 applications for the constituency, while two of them withdrew after filing the nominations.  According to the election commission of India’s website, the constituency has a total of 1946242 voters: 961864 male, 984032 female and 346 transgenders. Thiruvallur shares its…

A G Mourya, retired IPS officer and Makkal Needhi Maiam candidate is contesting from Chennai North parliamentary constituency; rival candidates are DMK’s Dr Kalanidhi Veerasamy and DMDK’s former MLA Alagaapuram R Mohanraj. In a candid interview, A G Mourya, an MCC alumnus and the former Deputy Inspector General of Prisons, says he is confident of winning from the constituency, that had been a hot seat for the DMK for ten consecutive elections before 2014, when the AIADMK won it. Here are excerpts from the interview: How do you feel the transition from being a police officer to a politician? It…

With just two days to go for Phase 2 of the 17th Lok Sabha Polls, civic campaigns complement the Election Commission of India's back-to-back activities on creating awareness about the right to vote. As part of the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) activities by the Election Commission, Greater Chennai Corporation has organised various activities such as Parasailing, bike rally and workshops to reach out to the voters. The website of the Chief Electoral officer, Tamil Nadu is filled with awareness videos by eminent film personalities such as Vijay Sethupathi and Vivek. Created by the Election Commission, #MakeYourMarkTN is…

Kameela Nasser is an eloquent woman. A contestant from Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), Kameela’s confidence and firm grip over grassroots level issues are rare in a newcomer to politics. Contesting from Chennai Central Parliamentary constituency, Kameela is fighting it out against big names: PMK (alliance with AIADMK)’s Sam Paul and DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran. A film producer, and wife of character artist Nasser, Kameela has been part of Kamal Hassan’s MNM for over eight months now. In a detailed interview with Citizen Matters Chennai, Kameela talks about her life before politics, the campaign trial and the pressing concerns in the constituency of…

Alagaapuram R Mohanraj, contesting from Chennai North Parliamentary constituency on a DMDK ticket, is optimistic: he feels all is well in the constituency. With barely six days left for the constituency to vote in the Lok Sabha elections, Mohanraj is on the streets for more than 13 hours a day, and the success of schemes implemented by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are a frequent refrain in his campaign speeches. The DMDK is part of the mega alliance with parties such as AIADMK, BJP and PMK. In a freewheeling interview, Mohanraj, a former Salem MLA,…

Chennai Central Parliamentary constituency is comprised of six assembly constituencies -- Villivakkam, Egmore (SC), Harbour, Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni, Thousand Lights and Anna Nagar.   Chennai Central is a constituency of extremes: it has some of the city's richest localities such as Central and Anna Nagar, and within a few metres are the slum pockets of GH quarters and Aminjikarai. There is cultural diversity as well as the constituency sizeable Hindi and Urdu speaking population, apart from Telugus and Malayalis.  It also has a significant Muslim population of over 2 lakhs in Chepauk - Triplicane and Egmore assembly constituencies. Contestants therefore must come…