They've been newsmakers in
2014 for various reasons and with 2015 just around the corner it's time to take
a look at the people and personalities who made headlines and caused quite a
stir in the year gone.
Here are the top 15 newsmakers in Tamil Nadu:
She left for Bengaluru as
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu but returned to Chennai as a convicted. Ms. Jayalalithaa
was convicted of amassing assets disproportionate to her income while she was
in power from 1991-96 and removed as CM. Jayalalithaa and her three
associates--N Sasikalaa , Elavarasi and V N
Sudhakaran--were sentenced to four years in prison. While she was fined Rs100 crore, the other three
were fined Rs10 crore each and sent to prison. She moved the Supreme Court in
October, which suspended her sentence for two months and granted her interim
bail.
Just like he did last year,
India Cements chief N Srinivasan made news all
through 2014 for his role as a cricket administrator. The IPL betting scandal
that broke in 2013 extended all the way into 2014 and a court-appointed
committee indicted his son-in-law and team principal of Chennai Super Kings for
betting. In 2014, the Supreme Court ordered him to stay away from BCCI
activities and asked him to prove that there is no conflict of interest,
despite him wearing multiple hats as BCCI chief and managing director of India
Cements, which owns Chennai Super Kings
It wasn't easy for
Viswanathan Anand to lose the World Chess Championship to Magnus Carlsen for a
second year running, but experts said that he was back at his best this year.
His biggest achievement, in fact, was to qualify for the final against Carlsen
by beating the best in the business in the Candidates event and even after the
Carlsen defeat, Anand showed he has not lost the hunger by winning the London
Classic
After years of laying low, G
K Vasan decided to break away from Congress. The former Union minister launched
Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) in November, saying he was “deeply worried
about the functioning of the Congress in Tamil Nadu“. After the party's defeat
in the Lok Sabha pollsearlier in the year, Vasan
decided to forge his own path by harnessing the power of his father's name and
followers. He took 22 district Congress presidents and 31 former MLAs and MPs,
including S R Balasubramaniam and S Peter Alphonse, with him and invited “all famous,
respected individuals“, including Rajinikanth, to join him
India Glasgow
Became the first person from
Tamil Nadu to win an individual gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. Weightlifter
Sathish Sivalingam perhaps did not expect to achieve success so early in life —
maybe not at the age of 22 — when he lifted a total 328kg to claim the gold
medal in the 77kg category at the Commonwealth Games. He did so in style,
setting a Games record by lifting 149kg in snatch. Sathuvachari near Vellore
District became famous due to his win. Then all the media galore those tiny
village and found that there are many youth aspiring to become weightlifting
champions in a small gym. Due to health problem, he not participated in the
Asian Games 2014.
40th Chief Justice of India
MDMK
party chief, who first joined NDA camp ahead of 2014 elections became the first
party to come out of the same camp. His voice against BJP leaders was in
headlines often ranging from invitation to Rajapkase, release of fishermen form
death sentence as a huge drama enacted by BJP, imposition of Hindi and
Sanskrit, Cauvery issue and others…
Current
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Mr. OPS became the CM of the State for the second
time. After Jaya’s conviction, Mr. OPS became the CM. Opposition parties mocked
Mr. OPS in several ways but the party / Mr. OPS remained silent. Media and
Opposition made Mr. OPS to convene Assembly session. The session begins with
Mr. OPS as Chief Minister. Mr. OPS handled the Assembly session in smooth way.
Mr. OPS increased the electricity bill and milk rate. Attended CM’s meet in Delhi
The
person who is hailed as ‘100% clean’ by media and some groups was in news
2014. Removed from Cooptex Secretary (due to clash with Minister Ms. Gokula
Indra); then appointed as Indian Medicine and Homeopathy commissioner; then, to
the vice-chairmanship of Science
City Madurai
Can a list of newsmakers from
TN leave Rajinikanth out? The superstar makes news just by breathing. However,
he did create quite a few headlines in 2014 with the release of `Lingaa', his
rejection of invitations from a phalanx of political parties and moving court
to protect his `personality rights' when a Bollywood director tried cashing in
on his name and style. Ahead of the LS polls, he posed with Modi but said he
supported no one; later, he said, “I am not afraid of politics, but hesitant”
(01) J. Jayalalithaa:
She left for Bengaluru as
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu but returned to Chennai as a convicted. Ms. Jayalalithaa
was convicted of amassing assets disproportionate to her income while she was
in power from 1991-96 and removed as CM. Jayalalithaa and her three
associates--
Government notices and press
releases still take her name and she pulls the strings from her home but the
AIADMK star has been barred from elections for 10 years. Now her party calls as "People's Chief Minister"
At the peak of her
political career (winning 37 LS Seats out of 39 without any ally; making AIADMK
as the third largest political party in Lok Sabha), her conviction becomes
‘sweet news’ for all other parties in Tamil Nadu. Her political life now hangs
in the hands of Karnataka High Court, which will hear it from Jan 2015
(judgement might come April 2015)
(02) Khushbu:
No stranger to newsmaker
lists or trouble, Khushbu spent 2014 making her presence felt--if not her
mark--in the political world. In the run-up to the 2014 elections, Khushbu--who
has both star appeal and strong opinions--hit the campaign trail for DMK though
Stalin's dislike of her was an open secret. In 2013, stone throwing Stalin
supporters attacked her house after she said DMK general council would choose
Karunanidhi's successor. Despite having MK's support she was unable to make
much headway. She left the party in June, and after lying low for a few months,
joined Congress in November
(03) N. Srinivasan:
Just like he did last year,
India Cements chief
(04) Viswanathan Anand:
It wasn't easy for
Viswanathan Anand to lose the World Chess Championship to Magnus Carlsen for a
second year running, but experts said that he was back at his best this year.
His biggest achievement, in fact, was to qualify for the final against Carlsen
by beating the best in the business in the Candidates event and even after the
Carlsen defeat, Anand showed he has not lost the hunger by winning the London
Classic
(05) G. K. Vasan:
After years of laying low, G
K Vasan decided to break away from Congress. The former Union minister launched
Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) in November, saying he was “deeply worried
about the functioning of the Congress in Tamil Nadu“. After the party's defeat
in the Lok Sabha pollsearlier in the year, Vasan
decided to forge his own path by harnessing the power of his father's name and
followers. He took 22 district Congress presidents and 31 former MLAs and MPs,
including S R Balasubramaniam and S Peter Alphonse, with him and invited “all famous,
respected individuals“, including Rajinikanth, to join him
(06) Dipika Pallikal:
(07) Sathish Sivalingam:
Became the first person from
Tamil Nadu to win an individual gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. Weightlifter
Sathish Sivalingam perhaps did not expect to achieve success so early in life —
maybe not at the age of 22 — when he lifted a total 328kg to claim the gold
medal in the 77kg category at the Commonwealth Games. He did so in style,
setting a Games record by lifting 149kg in snatch. Sathuvachari near Vellore
District became famous due to his win. Then all the media galore those tiny
village and found that there are many youth aspiring to become weightlifting
champions in a small gym. Due to health problem, he not participated in the
Asian Games 2014.
(08) P. Sathasivam:
40th Chief Justice of
(09) Tamilisai Soundarajan:
First
women president of BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit. She was a National Secretary of the
Bharatiya Janata Party prior to this appointment. Her statements for BJP in
television channels are now trendsetting in facebook by various jokes. After
Jaya’s conviction, BJP’s voice in the State is in of high tone. BJP is longing
to grab the power in 2016.
(10) Vaiko:
MDMK
party chief, who first joined NDA camp ahead of 2014 elections became the first
party to come out of the same camp. His voice against BJP leaders was in
headlines often ranging from invitation to Rajapkase, release of fishermen form
death sentence as a huge drama enacted by BJP, imposition of Hindi and
Sanskrit, Cauvery issue and others…
(11) O. Pannerselvam:
Current
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Mr. OPS became the CM of the State for the second
time. After Jaya’s conviction, Mr. OPS became the CM. Opposition parties mocked
Mr. OPS in several ways but the party / Mr. OPS remained silent. Media and
Opposition made Mr. OPS to convene Assembly session. The session begins with
Mr. OPS as Chief Minister. Mr. OPS handled the Assembly session in smooth way.
Mr. OPS increased the electricity bill and milk rate. Attended CM’s meet in
(12) Sheela Balakrishnan IAS:
Adviser
to the Government of Tamil Nadu. Former Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu; when she
retired, the then Chief Minister Jaya, appointed her as a special adviser to
the government. When Jaya got convicted, her name was also said for CM post.
The media circulates that, the Ms. Sheela is the pillar of St. George Fort now
guiding the Tamil Nadu government.
(13) Sagayam IAS:
The
person who is hailed as ‘100% clean’ by media and some groups was in news
2014. Removed from Cooptex Secretary (due to clash with Minister Ms. Gokula
Indra); then appointed as Indian Medicine and Homeopathy commissioner; then, to
the vice-chairmanship of
(14) EVKS Elangovan:
The
much troubled congress unit in Tamil Nadu got a new President. Now, the
Congress unit in the State is divided with the factions of EVKS, Chidamabram,
Thangabalu and Khushubu. The high command thinks that, EVKS can make DMK to
bring into the alliance.
(15) Rajinikanth:
Can a list of newsmakers from
TN leave Rajinikanth out? The superstar makes news just by breathing. However,
he did create quite a few headlines in 2014 with the release of `Lingaa', his
rejection of invitations from a phalanx of political parties and moving court
to protect his `personality rights' when a Bollywood director tried cashing in
on his name and style. Ahead of the LS polls, he posed with Modi but said he
supported no one; later, he said, “I am not afraid of politics, but hesitant”
Others:
(i) Kamal Hassan: appointed as ambassador ‘clean India
(ii) M K Stalin: DMK now comes under the direct control
of M K Stalin
(iii) Maran Brothers: Spicejet issue; ED summons them
on Aircel-Maxis case
(iv) H Raja: BJP leader who openly warned Vaiko can’t
return safely if he criticises Modi and other BJP leaders
(v) Balu Mahendra & K Balachander: the trend setter
of Tamil Films passed away.
(vi) Subramanian Swamy: BJP leader who is known for
his ‘great’ remarks. ‘Award Bhara Ratna to Sri Lankan President’; ‘I only said
to Sri Lanka to release fishermen and keep their boats’; ‘I knew Jaya will be
convicted, her political life is over’; ‘Dismiss Tamil Nadu government as the
government is supporting LTTE activities’; ‘Vaiko can go out of NDA else we
will throw you out – same is applicable for Ramdoss too’; ‘BJP do not need any
actors to strengthen its base in TN’ ‘India is a country for Hindus’, etc…..
(vii) Varsha Gautham – Aishwarya Nedunchezhian: Asian Games
bronze medalists; also won the 29er youth class in Chennai with a win in the
India International Regatta.
(viii) Poomani: Eminent Novelist
Mr. Poomani has won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil Literature, 2014 for
his fictional, historical novel “Agnaadi”.
(ix) Ashok Kumar:
New DGP for Tamil Nadu. Replaced K. Ramanujam who was appointed as Adviser to
the Government of Tamil Nadu
(x) A Sarath Kamal
and Anthony Amalraj: Table tennis players who won Silver medals in 2014 CWG
See Also the Following links:
2014: Disasters across the world
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