Tamil Nadu Today newsletter: CM Vijay calls on PM Modi in maiden meeting

1. AIADMK rival factions reconcile a fortnight after Legislature Party split

Nearly two weeks after the vertical split of the AIADMK Legislature Party, the rival factions — one headed by general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and the other by former Minister S.P. Velumani — buried the hatchet and arrived at a truce.

The rebel MLAs headed by Mr. Velumani also presented letters to the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly J.C.D. Prabhakar at the Secretariat, seeking condonation of their conduct of voting contrary to the direction issued by party whip Agri S.S. Krishnamurthy during the vote of confidence of the Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay-led government in the Assembly on May 13.

2. Vijay’s maiden meeting with PM Modi

During his maiden visit to the national capital after assuming office, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at their offices in New Delhi this evening.

Mr. Vijay is likely to call on Congress leaders tomorrow.

3. T.N. Higher Education Minister says CM need not be Chancellor of universities; remark draws ire

Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister and Congress MLA P. Viswanathan’s statement in Madurai that the present TVK-led government need not adhere to the previous government’s stance that the Chief Minister should be the Chancellor of universities has invited criticism from the DMK and VCK.

4. Sulur girl sexual assault and murder case: Goondas Act invoked

Two men arrested in connection with the sexual assault and murder of a 10-year-old girl near Sulur in Coimbatore were detained under the Goondas Act while a court extended their judicial remand till June 5.

The accused are K. Karthi, 35, from Nagapattinam district, and R. Mohan, 31, from Thanjavur district. They were earlier arrested by the Sulur police under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act