President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed their condolences on Thursday for the passing away of the eminent Malayalam literary figure M T Vasudevan Nair.

In a post on social media X, President Murmu said that the literary world has lost a significant voice with Nair’s death. She stated, “With the demise of Shri M T Vasudevan Nair, renowned Malayalam writer, the world of literature has become poorer. Rural India came alive in his writings. He was honoured with major literary awards and made significant contributions to films. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan.”

Furthermore, she extended her heartfelt condolences to Nair’s family and his numerous readers and admirers.

“I convey my heartfelt condolences to the members of his family, and the large number of his readers and admirers,” the post further read.

Prime Minister Modi honored Nair’s legacy, emphasizing that his works, marked by a profound exploration of human emotions, have influenced generations and will inspire many more in the future. Expressing his sorrow, he acknowledged Nair as one of the most respected figures in Malayalam cinema and literature.

“Saddened by the passing away of Shri MT Vasudevan Nair, one of the most respected figures in Malayalam cinema and literature. His works, with their profound exploration of human emotions, have shaped generations and will continue to inspire many more. He also gave voice to the silent and marginalised,” the post read.

“He also gave voice to the silent and marginalised. My thoughts are with his family and admirers. Om Shanti,” Modi stated.

Nair, a distinguished literary figure and Jnanpith Award recipient, passed away on December 25, 2024, at a private hospital due to heart failure, at the age of 91. He also penned essays, short stories, and travelogues, and even took to directing films.

In the wake of his passing, the Kerala government announced official mourning on December 26 and 27 to pay tribute to MT Vasudevan Nair, as stated by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

A major technical issue disrupted the IRCTC website and mobile application today, preventing thousands of users from successfully booking their Tatkal (emergency) tickets. This outage, which occurred precisely at 10 a.m., left many users frustrated as they faced difficulties while trying to book tickets for their urgent travel needs.

The glitch was widespread, affecting both the official IRCTC website and the mobile app. When users attempted to access the platform, they were met with an error message reading, “unable to perform action due to maintenance activity.” This unexpected technical failure came as the Tatkal booking window opened, a period when millions of users rushed to secure tickets for their travel.

This is the second time in the month that the IRCTC app has faced significant downtime, triggering a wave of complaints across social media platforms. Many users took to Twitter (now X), voicing their frustration over the repeated technical failures, particularly during the highly sought-after Tatkal booking period.

Frustration continued to mount as many users expressed disbelief that the IRCTC system, which caters to millions of passengers daily, was unable to handle peak booking hours effectively. Others pointed out the recurring nature of the problem, with one user calling for immediate action from the Ministry of Railways, tagging Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the Rail Ministry’s official Twitter account. 

Despite the ongoing backlash, there has been no official response from IRCTC or the Ministry of Railways at the time of publication. The IRCTC website and app are widely used by millions of railway passengers across India, particularly for the crucial Tatkal ticket booking window, which opens at 10 a.m. daily.

The frequent glitches on the platform have raised concerns about the adequacy of the infrastructure supporting this vital service. Passengers, many of whom rely on the timely availability of Tatkal tickets, are calling for a more reliable system to prevent such outages in the future.

With the ongoing festive season and increased travel demand, users are hoping that the authorities will address these technical issues and provide a seamless booking experience moving forward.

The BJP on Thursday alleged that the accused arrested for the alleged sexual assault of a 19-year-old Anna University student in Chennai is a repeat offender and a DMK functionary.

37-year-old Gnanasekaran of Kottur, who ran a biryani stall near the Anna University campus, was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police. Reportedly, the accused entered the university campus, thrashed the second-year engineering student’s male friend, and then dragged her into a bush before sexually assaulting her.

This incident taking place inside the campus of a renowned university has sparked a debate, protest, and a political tussle over the safety of women in the state. Taking to X, BJP state president K Annamalai shared a picture of deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and other DMK leaders with the alleged accused. He claimed that a clear pattern emerges from the number of such cases in the past, noting that a criminal gets closely linked to local DMK functionaries and then becomes a member of the party.

He further said that all the cases registered against the accused get suppressed, and he gets leeway by not being categorised as a history-sheeter or kept on the watchlist of the local police station.

K Annamalai also alleged that police do not investigate the existing cases against him due to the pressure from the local DMK leaders and ministers, which allows him to commit further crimes. He further questioned how long should the people of Tamil Nadu put up to this, and will MK Stalin ever take responsibility.

Reacting to the allegation, DMK spokesperson A Saravanan told a news publication that a picture with the party leader does not imply culpability of the party. He added that the accused has been arrested, and he cannot escape justice from the DMK government.

Later, in a social media post, Saravanan said that no matter who did the wrong, the Tamil Nadu police will take action. He claimed that those who cannot shake the DMK politically continue to spread false allegations that law and order have deteriorated.