Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar criticizes the state government for the water crisis in Thiruvananthapuram ahead of the Attukal Pongala festival, alleging negligence and failure to utilize funds. He also addressed the Gulf conflict and political alliances in the state.
The trailer of the film, produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and directed by Kamakhya Narain Singh, released on Tuesday and landed straight into controversy. It tracks the stories of three Hindu women from three different states going against their families to marry Muslim men and then being forced to convert.
The upcoming Hindi film 'The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond' is embroiled in controversy, similar to its predecessor, with accusations of hate propaganda and defenses of legitimate concern over religious conversion.
The Left government in Kerala has granted sanction to the state police to seek Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) from the United States in the probe into a Facebook post allegedly made from the account of former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, following the twin bomb blasts at a Jehovah's Witnesses convention in Kalamassery that killed eight people on 29 October 2023.
George stated that a girl should be married off by the time she is 22 or 23 and that such decency should be maintained.
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma announced plans for a new anti-conversion law following the arrest of two nuns from Kerala on charges related to religious conversion and human trafficking. The announcement comes amid political tensions and accusations of wrongful arrest.
A special court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district granted bail to three persons, including two nuns from Kerala, arrested on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.
The arrest of two Catholic nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion has ignited a political controversy, with opposition parties criticizing the arrest and the Chief Minister defending the police action.
A court in Kottayam, Kerala, has remanded BJP leader P C George to judicial custody in a hate speech case. The Erattupetta Munsif Magistrate Court rejected George's bail application and sent him to police custody until 6 pm. George surrendered before the court after the Kerala High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea. He was accused of delivering hate speech against a minority community during a TV channel discussion. The case was based on a complaint by Muhamed Shihab, a Muslim Youth League leader, who alleged that George made remarks capable of "inciting religious hatred."
Hours after the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed in Parliament, 50 individuals embroiled in land disputes in Kerala's Munambam joined the BJP, hoping for a resolution to their claims. The residents, who have been protesting for 174 days, allege that the Waqf Board is claiming ownership of their properties. BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar assured them of the party's support and a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express gratitude. The BJP capitalized on the Catholic Church's support for the legislation, accusing the Congress and the Left of appeasement politics. The opposition, however, questioned the impact of the bill on the Munambam issue.
'They just showed riots created by some political party. They never mentioned the name of the place or the political party.' 'I don't know why these people are agitated.'
A Kerala court on Tuesday sentenced to death 15 persons associated with the now-banned Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) in connection with the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party OBC wing leader Ranjith Sreenivasan in this district in 2021, the special prosecutor of the case said in Alappuzha.
'In today's political spectrum, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party that always says, nation first.'
Announcing candidates for the remaining four seats in Kerala, the Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded its state chief K Surendran in the high-profile Wayanad constituency against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
'The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.'
A court in Wayanad on Wednesday directed the police to register a case against Bharatiya Janata Party Kerala chief K Surendran on charges of bribing tribal leader and Janathipathya Rashtreeya Party (JRP) president C K Janu to contest as an NDA candidate in the Mananathavady Assembly constituency in the April 6 elections.
A ministerial berth for Kerala BJP general secretary George Kurian in the third Narendra Modi government is indeed a reward for a loyal party worker who has been active in the saffron party movement post-Emergency in the late 1970s.
More screenings are expected to take place in some colleges in Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram later Tuesday, a senior police officer said.
Political pundits unanimously suggest that the state is not experiencing a discernible Gandhi wave this time around.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is planning to celebrate the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, being organised in Ayodhya, in a grand manner in Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The Kerala unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party is unhappy with the Lok Sabha poll schedule for the state.P K Krishnadas, president of the BJP's state unit, told reporters that the last day of campaigning falls on April 14, which clashes with Vishu, the most popular Hindu festival in Kerala. BJP's state general secretary M T Ramesh informed reporters that the party has already petitioned the EC about changing the election dates in Kerala.
The party fielded Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur, while Uttar Pradesh minister Jitin Prasada has replaced Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit.
Nadda claimed that over the years the number of people listening to the PM's programme has increased each month.
'Is it not a fact that all good leaders in the Congress have left the party?'
'There will be no compromise with someone who has betrayed the party at this stage even if she is my sister,' Congress MP K Muraleedharan told reporters.
'After giving my own money to this party, I was insulted.'' 'Neither this party nor its leaders have no respect for women.'
In a state where thin margins and minor swings decide electoral outcomes, nothing can be left to chance, even for those relishing the cocooned life, observes Shyam G Memon.
It is early to make out which way the wind is blowing, but there is no denying that challenges for the BJP, far outweigh the advantages in this region, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Kerala Bharatiya Janata Party chief K Surendran said the BJP's central leadership alone will decide on the party's chief ministerial candidate.
On a tour to the US, Gandhi told reporters in Washington that the Muslim League is a completely secular party and there is nothing non-secular about it.
'The entire electorate of Wayanad is joyful. Rahulji is with us and we are with him wherever he is.'
Talking about the relationship with his father, Anil Antony said, "We all are different and our thinking is also different. Joining the BJP is my personal decision and my father has been associated with the Congress for many decades. He has a different attachment to the Congress."
The attack against the BJP worker, Santosh, took place when he was alone in his house at Andaloor in Dharmadam in Thalassery on Wednesday night.
Remith, who suffered severe injuries on his head and neck in the attack that happened at 10.30 am, died on the way to hospital, police said.
His entry into the BJP is being seen as a major boost for the party in election-bound Kerala.
If Kerala wants to sustain its room for independent thinking and talk back to Delhi when needed, it should put its finances in order. Or - if one takes the North East example - Kerala's political posturing may end up commensurate with its financial dependence on others, suggests Shyam G Menon.
"I was never a politician and do not wish to. I am 90 now and hence do not want to be in politics. I need not be a politician to serve people which I am doing through three trusts," he said, speaking at a private function in Ponnani near Malappuram.
Pillai announced his decision to quit at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday refuted the Congress charge as 'baseless' that her party had not fielded a candidate against Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan in the April 13 assembly elections as part of a secret pact with the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Ramesh and others were sent to the sub-jail in Kozhikode last night. BJP leaders said a bail application seeking the release of Ramesh and other BJYM workers would be moved.
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