Tamil Nadu Congress Lok Sabha MP from Tiruvallur, Sasikanth Senthil, who is on a hunger strike against the BJP-led Union government for not releasing funds to the tune of more than ₹ 2,000 crore to Tamil Nadu under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, (SSA), was shifted from Tiruvallur Government Hospital to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai on Sunday (August 31, 2025).

“On the third day of my hunger strike, I was admitted to the hospital due to high blood pressure. On doctors’ advice, I have now been shifted from Tiruvallur Government Hospital to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai. Even from here, I continue my hunger strike with the same determination until our rightful SSA funds are released,” Mr. Senthil posted on X.

He urged the people of Tamil Nadu to raise their voices in a democratic way and demand Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to release Tamil Nadu’s “rightful money without playing politics over ideological differences.”

Members of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) from the Visakhapatnam region held an extensive review meeting on Sunday to discuss various local issues and ongoing political developments in the district. The meeting was chaired by YSRCP district president K.K. Raju and attended by senior leader and MLC Botcha Satyanarayana, former Minister Gudivada Amarnath, and other party leaders.

During the meeting, Mr. Satyanarayana strongly condemned what he called the “political drama” surrounding the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) privatisation. He said VSP holds sentimental value not only for the people of North Andhra but also for the entire state of Andhra Pradesh. Criticising the NDA government, he pointed out that despite promising to protect VSP from privatisation before the elections, it has acted negligently on the issue. He added that the YSRCP would soon formulate an action plan to oppose the privatisation. As part of this plan, a roundtable meeting will be organised, inviting party leaders and representatives from trade unions fighting the issue.

The leaders also discussed the allotment of prime Visakhapatnam land to private entities such as the LuLu Group. They condemned the transfer of Beach Road property at nominal rates and decided to launch massive protests over the issue.

Several YSRCP corporators highlighted the lack of development work in their wards since the NDA assumed control of the municipal corporation. In response, the party resolved to submit representations to the District Collector, seeking prompt attention to local development activities.

Addressing the party cadre, Mr. Satyanarayana said the YSRCP has always recognised and encouraged its activists. He announced that committees would soon be formed from booth to district level to cover all departments of the party structure.

Former MLAs Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar and T. Nagi Reddy, former Mayor Golagani Hari Venkata Kumari, and GVMC floor leader of YSRCP Banala Srinivasa Rao were among those present.

The Australian government on Sunday (August 31, 2025) has disapproved the campaigns taking place across various cities against increasing migration of Indians, saying “brand of far-right activism grounded in racism and ethnocentrism” has no place in the country.

‘March for Australia’ rallies were held in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, among others, were held against immigration, according to the right wing group’s website.

In a release, the Australian government said, the Anthony Albanese government stands against the events planned for the weekend. “All Australians, no matter their heritage, have the right to feel safe and welcome in our community,” the statement said.

Tony Burke, Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs, was quoted as saying, “There is no place in our country for people who seek to divide and undermine our social cohesion. Nothing could be less Australian.”

Minister for Multicultural Affairs Anne Aly said, “Multiculturalism is an integral and valued part of our national identity.” “We stand with all Australians, no matter where they were born, against those who seek to divide us and who seek to intimidate migrant communities. We will not be intimidated. This brand of far-right activism grounded in racism and ethnocentrism has no place in modern Australia,” she added.

The ‘March for Australia’ website says, “Our streets have seen growing displays of anti-Australian hatred, foreign conflicts, and disintegrating trust, whilst mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together.” “This march is a stand for the people, culture, and nation that built Australia — and for our right to decide its future,” it added.

The group in a social media post on Saturday (August 30, 2025) said the rallies aimed to do “what the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration”. The group’s manifesto and flyers read, “More Indians in 5 years, than Greeks and Italians in 100”, adding, “This isn’t a slight cultural change, it’s a replacement plain and simple.”

Murray Watt, Minister for Environment, told Sky News television on Sunday (August 31, 2025), “We absolutely condemn the March for Australia rally that’s going on today. It is not about increasing social harmony.” “We don’t support rallies like this which is about spreading hate and that are about dividing our community,” he said, adding that they were “organised and promoted” by neo-Nazi groups.

In an apparent reference to United States President Donald Trump’s characterisation of India’s economy as “dead” in July, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday (August 30, 2025) cited government data to counter the remark.

“India is a ‘long live economy’, which is on the path to realising the dream of a developed and fully self-reliant India,” Mr. Chouhan posted on social media. The “sweat of Indian farmers, hard work of our scientists, and 140 crore Indians have demonstrated their capabilities,” he added.

The Minister was citing government data released on Friday (August 29, 2025), which showed the Indian economy had grown by 7.8% in April-June, the highest in five quarters, before Mr. Trump imposed tariffs.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India was moving forward to fulfil the resolve of a developed India, Mr. Chouhan said.

The BJP also used this data point on Saturday (August 30, 2025) to attack Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had agreed with Mr. Trump’s characterisation. “Yes, he is right. Everybody knows this, except the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister,” the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha had said.

Mr. Trump’s remarks on the Indian economy had come hours after he had announced 25% tariffs on the import of Indian goods, and an unspecified “penalty” for buying the “vast majority” of Russian military equipment and crude oil.

The BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya named Mr. Gandhi in his social media post. “For the acerbic, delusional, frustrated, and rejected Rahul Gandhi — the same man who declared India a ‘dead economy’ — the latest GDP numbers are the hardest slap of reality,” Mr. Malviya said. “India has just clocked 7.8 per cent GDP growth in Q1 of FY 2025-26, leading the world’s major economies,” he added.

The only thing “dead” was Mr. Gandhi’s credibility, Mr. Malviya said.

In another post on X, Mr. Malviya said India was not only growing but also proving the “doomsayers wrong, quarter after quarter”. “The same purveyors of the ‘India is a dead economy’ narrative are now scrambling to hide their faces,” he said.

The BJP’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla added that the Indian economy was “rewriting” global benchmarks. “Rahul Gandhi said the economy is dead. ‘Dead nahi, deadly hai’ (India’s economy is not dead, it’s deadly),” Mr. Poonawalla said in a post on X. “This momentum shows that the so-called ‘dead economy’ is in fact alive, thriving, and deadly strong,” he added.

In his immediate reactions to President Trump’s remarks on the Indian economy, Mr. Gandhi had also alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre had destroyed the country’s economic, defence and foreign policies, running India “to the ground”.

In a bid to protect the Pallikaranai marshland, one of the important wetlands on the Indian Ramsar list, a cross-section of residents along the IT Corridor has opposed the integrated waste management projects proposed by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) in Perungudi. The civic body has planned to develop a pilot project of an integrated solid waste management facility in an eight acre area of the Perungudi dumpyard in three months.

Federation of Thoraipakkam Residents’ Welfare Associations president A. Francis said the residents have opposed the move to set up the pilot project as it will affect the marshland, which is an important wetland of international importance. “We opposed the project for setting up an eco park in 93 acres after biomining of the legacy waste. We wanted the marshland to be restored to the original condition after biomining. Once the Pallikaranai marshland is restored after GCC stops dumping, flood risk for the entire city will reduce. If the GCC goes ahead with the project, the flood risk will increase. Residents will start a campaign shortly, according to the wetland pledge popularised by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, reminding citizens about their fundamental duties towards wetlands,” he said.

President of Sholinganallur Constituency Residents’ Welfare Associations D. Raman said the dumpyard in the marshland has blocked the floodwaters during the northeast monsoon, causing flooding in areas such as Velachery, Madipakkam, Pallikaranai and several areas of the city.

Bhuvana Raj of Federation of OMR Resident Associations’ ECOWatch, cited the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2016, which require a 200-metre buffer zone for waste disposal sites from water bodies. “Construction and demolition debris and garden waste are also brought to the dump yard that is close to an ecologically sensitive area, and there is no transparency on where or how this waste is processed. The GCC must ensure that the regulations are adhered to,” she added.

Ms. Bhuvana was among many who, in February 2024, opposed an ₹185.42-crore eco-park project proposed on the reclaimed land in Perungudi dumpyard. Subsequently, in November 2024, the Chennai Corporation (GCC) withdrew this proposal.

T.D. Babu, a marine biologist and environmental auditor, said the Pallikaranai marshland has already shrunk and the portion active now is only 5% of the original size. “The reclaimed land is technically part of the marshland. The infrastructure to process fresh waste is necessary, but the location is not ideal, especially since it is ecologically sensitive. Such wetlands cannot be recreated or mimicked. Sponge parks are only percolation pits with restricted capacity, which is not as good as the natural capacity. There is a global-level call to protect environmentally sensitive areas to reduce flooding. But such projects would only add to existing inundation problems,” he said.

He said source segregation must be pushed for, and garbage processing must be decentralised. The Detailed Project Report for such infrastructure must be formulated with the surrounding ecosystem in mind, he added.

The residents who have been protesting for three decades against the dumping of waste in Perungudi dumpyard have successfully managed to persuade the Chennai Corporation to hand over a portion of the marshland in the southern part of Thoraipakkam Pallavaram Radial Road to the Forest Department.