The hill shrine had been witnessing protests by devotees and right wing groups against the government's decision to implement the September 28 Supreme Court verdict, permitting women of all age groups to offer prayers at the temple.
Congress general secretary and party youth icon Rahul Gandhi kick started the United Democratic Front election campaign by addressing the Kerala Raksha march conducted by the state party president Ramesh Chennithala. In his speech, he called upon senior party leaders to start a package for Keralites who are suffering after the global crisis hit the Gulf region which has led to several people from the state returning home.
Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, who is also a member of the Communist Party of India Marxist politburo, has openly come out against the CPI-M's stance on People's Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasser Madani .The veteran leader, while fielding questions at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, said that the government would investigate whether any cases were pending against Madani. An unabashed Madani welcomed the chief minister's statement.
The Communist Partyy of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front opposition disrupted proceedings in the Kerala assembly on Monday, demanding a fresh probe into the allegation of the victim against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien in the Suryanelli gangrape case.
Prakash Karat, the head (general secretary) of the country's premier Left party, the Communist Party of India -Marxist, tells Saubhadra Chatterji it won't be doomsday if they lose power in West Bengal.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would accompany him to Wayanad.
Led by CPI-M stalwart, 87-year-old V S Achuthanandan, the LDF succeeded in staving off the anti-incumbency trend against the government, which was reflected in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and civic elections last year, in which the UDF had stolen march over the Left front.
Mufti said the Bharat Jodo Yatra was like a breath of fresh air in Kashmir as it allowed people to come out of their homes in numbers for the first time since 2019.
With the United Democratic Front securing power with a thin majority of 72 seats in the 140-member assembly in Kerala, tough administrative and organisational tasks are awaiting Congress as the lead partner in the bipolar scenario.
Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani resigned on Tuesday night after pressure mounted on him from the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front to quit.
A skillful organiser and shrewd strategist with the man-next-door image, 67-year-old Oommen Chandy has been a key player in the Congress in Kerala for over four decades.
Achuthanandan, who is seeking re-election from Malampuzha in Palakkad district, said the UDF did not implement any of the promises it made in its manifesto in 2001.
It is for the first time that Kerala is having multi-phased elections.
Welcoming Italy's decision to send back marines charged with the killing of two fishermen, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday said the development clearly established the fact that no country can question the sovereignty of India.
The ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala on Wednesday suffered a major jolt with the opposition United Democratic Front wresting two city corporations and dominating the race in muncipalities for which counting was taken up.
Kerala has never witnessed such a close call in assembly elections in its history, as it did this year. It was indeed a photo finish between the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the Communist party of India-Marxist led Left Democratic Front today. It was like a thrilling Twenty20 match with one batsman pitching in with a spectacular performance. The LDF has managed to win as many as 68 seats, against 72 of the UDF, only because of the goodwill of V S Achuthanandan.
There are 13 new faces, including two women, in the cabinet. Five ministers had held positions in previous LDF ministries.
Opposition parties will hold the next meeting of their 26-member INDIA coalition in Mumbai on August 25 and 26, sources said on Thursday.
Top leaders of 26 opposition parties were arriving in Bengaluru on Monday for a two-day brainstorming session with a call for unity and are expected to chalk out their joint programme aimed at defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The SilverLine project, which is expected to considerably reduce travel time from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram, cannot be implemented without approval from the Centre which appears to be giving it a second thought in view of the United Democratic Front and Bharatiya Janata Party's opposition to it, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday.
As Kerala is set to go for assembly polls on April 13, the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front have to race against time as they are yet to finalise the seat-sharing exercise among partners and each component to work out the list of their contestants for before the filing of nominations begin on March 19.
Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, whose head may be on the chopping block, has decided to go hammer and tongs against his bitter rival in the Communist Party of India-Marxist, Pinarayi Vijayan. While answering questions on the party secretary's comment about the inclusion of a new nominee from the Janata Dal in to his cabinet, the Chief Minister said that it was not the party secretary (Vijayan) but the Left Democratic Front which is the ultimate decision maker.
The LDF is also maintaining its lead in village and block panchayats from where results have begun to pour in.
Modi also accused the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist of covering each other's corruption.
Union Minister of State for Home Mullapally Ramachandran told rediff.com on Monday that there were certain individuals and organisations in the state, which were facilitating the activities of the ISI and said that the Union government would take stringent action against them.
Saseendran said his resignation should not be seen as an acceptance of guilt.
For the BJP, Telangana is a sunrise state in the South, while Karnataka is a southern success despite the ups and downs.
In a major embarrassment to the Congress-led United Democratic Frontn government in Kerala, state Finance Minister K M Mani was on Thursday booked by the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau in the bar bribe scam.
Kerala Excise Minister K Babu resigned on Saturday hours after a Thrissur court ordered the vigilance department to register an FIR against him in the bar bribery scam.
'The entire electorate of Wayanad is joyful. Rahulji is with us and we are with him wherever he is.'
The Kerala unit of the Congress has made it clear to its allies that it would not succumb to their pressure tactics while finalising a seat sharing deal for the party-led coalition United Democratic Front in the forthcoming assembly polls. One of the Congress's allies in the state is Janadipathya Samarakshana Samithi, a political outfit floated by veteran Communist leader K R Gowri, who became part of the UDF fold after being expelled from the Communist Party of India.
Kerala Congress (J), a constituent of the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala, on Friday said its Lok Sabha member Francis George would vote against the trust vote on July 22 along with other LDF members. Denying reports in a section of the media that its party MP Francis George might vote in favour of the trust vote, the party chairman P J Joseph told PTI in Thiruvananthapuram that the party MP would vote against the trust vote.
After a marathon discussion lasting nine hours, the motion was defeated with 87 members opposing it and 40 supporting in the 140-member house with two vacancies.
Controversial People's Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasser Madani has accused the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala of playing into the hands of the Opposition Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the case related to the arrest of his wife, Sufiya Madhani.
With less than two weeks left for the April 13 assembly elections, the battle has warmed up for 30 seats in three southern districts of Kerala, seen crucial for both the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front and Congress headed United Democratic Front.
Although the leaders are not on same page on many matters related to the party, they have apparently come together to check Tharoor's larger political ambition in the state, they said.
PM Modi came under severe criticism after he compared the infant mortality rate among the Scheduled Tribe community in the southern state to that in Somalia.
The statement posted on SDPI's website alleged that freedom of speech, protests and organisation have been ruthlessly suppressed by the regime going against the basic principles of the Indian constitution.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran was to attend the United Nations World Tourism Organisation meet in Chengdu between September 11-16.
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