The 79-year old leader, who served as the chief minister of Kerala twice, breathed his last in a private hospital in Bengaluru at 4.25 am. His end came while undergoing treatment for cancer, party sources said.
Amid the opposition UDF's sloganeering against him, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Friday delivered the customary address to the assembly with the policy document outlining the Left government's administrative achievements and criticising the Centre for allegedly pushing the state to financial constraints by reducing its resource allocations.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has written to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking 'constitutionally appropriate' action against Finance Minister K N Balagopal for making a speech 'undermining unity', a demand turned down by the CM.
Children sitting together, and hugging each other is not desirable in India and it is dangerous, Vellappally Natesan said.
CPI-M veteran Pinarayi Vijayan, who led the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to an unprecedented consecutive victory in the April 6 assembly polls, on Thursday took oath as chief minister of Kerala for the second time along with 20 ministers.
'If you want to really grow, it has to be geometric progression like it happened at the Centre or Haryana or Tripura, where you made a quantum jump.' 'This is possible in Kerala provided we present a better alternative with a great leadership, but the current leadership is busy fixing each other.'
The shift toward a staunchly secular identity will help Congress to rebuild its trust and confidence with the minority communities, especially Muslim voters. Arguably, this is where the Congress' future also lies in national politics, observes M K Bhadrakumar.
Pinarayi is exploring the potentials of 'socialism with Indian characteristics'. The next five years under Pinarayi's watch will be a transformative period for Kerala's development, observes M K Bhadrakumar.
'The long maturity of these funds makes them well-suited for long-term financial goals such as saving for retirement or children's education or marriage.'
'Rahul Gandhi wants a group under the name 'new generation'. But look at the people who surround him.'
'Both the CPM and the BJP have one agenda, and that is to keep the Congress out.' 'That's why they are coming together.'
This is the second time Vijayan is contesting from Dharmadam constituency.
Former Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan was on Wednesday unanimously elected as leader of the CPI-M in the assembly. Achuthanandan will also head the 68-member Left Democratic Front opposition in the 140-member house.
In four years, the state has had to battle cyclones, two floods, and two epidemiological disasters. If people bring Pinarayi Vijayan back to power, he must have done something right, obsevers Aditi Phadnis.
'The idea of aligning with different political parties -- parties that are relevant at a particular period -- is opportunistic and unacceptable.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a no-holds-barred attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party saying he was not scared or intimidated by the saffron party's tactics of taking away his MP "tag" or his official residence as the more the ruling dispensation attacks him, the more he knows he is on the right path.
'Our views are different on fundamental matters right from the question of citizenship, all the way up to what the character of the Government should be, how a democracy should function and whether investigation agencies should be allowed to function independently.'
Despite their opposition based on ideology, both the political Right and the political Left possess similar behaviour, observes Shyam G Menon.
The People's Democratic Party of Abdul Nasser Madhani will work for the success of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front in the coming Assembly elections in Kerala.
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.
'The problem is with those who are entrusted with powers.'
Why weren't the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra and Telangana -- all of which have borders with Karnataka -- not invited to Saturday's swearing-in ceremony, asks Shyam G Menon.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor were also present with the PM as he interacted with the students inside the train.
Controversial comments by former Kerala High Court judge R Basant about Suryanelli gang rape case on Monday echoed in the state Assembly with the government rejecting Left Democratic Front demand for registering a criminal case against him following which the Opposition staged a walk out.
Senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leader and former Kerala health minister K K Shailaja has declined to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award as it was instituted in the name of late President of the Philippines, who was known allegedly for his brutality against the Communists.
While the CPI-M in a statement after the secretariat on Friday maintained that Balakrishnan, who is also a Polit Bureau member, had sought leave for further treatment which had been accepted, the leader of opposition in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala dubbed the move as a delayed dawning of wisdom.
"We know that the Communists do not respect the Indian history, culture and spirituality but nobody imagined they would have such hatred," Modi said.
The direction to Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL), or K-Rail as it is popularly known, was welcomed by Congress-led United Democratic Front opposition as they termed it a victory of the first phase of the struggle against the semi-high speed rail corridor.
Imaginative, innovative and exceptional. The election posters of both the Left Democratic Front and the ruling United Democratic Front are creative and unique in ideas and execution.
He also said that the focus will be on developing infrastructure in a big way and bring the state out of the debt trap if the BJP wins the assembly polls that are likely to be held in April-May this year.
Protesting against Forest Minister K B Ganesh Kumar's lewd comment against Communist Party of India (Marxist) veteran V S Achuthanandan, opposition Left Democratic Front on Friday forced the adjournment of Kerala Assembly for the day despite Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Kumar expressing regret over it.
Amid the bitter tussle with the Left Democratic Front-led government, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Tuesday said he will not interfere in the business of the government unless there was a total collapse of the constitutional machinery and "fortunately" that was not the case in Kerala.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front government in Kerala on Monday put on hold the implementation of the controversial amendment to the state Police Act citing criticism from various quarters.
While the Congress was a unifying force, the Left front was divisive, he said adding "wherever we go, we unify everybody. We are a unifying force. Wherever we go we identify everybody and unite them and make them strong".
The CBI also submitted another referral report in the court exonerating Bharatiya Janata Party leader AP Abdullakutty in the sexual exploitation complaint by the woman.
Flaying both the Congress-led United Democratic Front and Bharatiya Janata Party-National Democratic Alliance and a section of the "right wing" media for trying to tarnish the image of the government and its development and welfare programmes, he said the people have rejected their 'vicious propaganda' by giving the Left a decisive mandate.
The over 130-day-long protest by fisherfolk against the under-construction Vizhinjam sea port was on Tuesday called off for now.
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.
Vijayan, in his detailed speech, said his government wanted to resolve the issue amicably within the framework of law and sought the support of everyone to participate in the process to settle the 140-day-long agitation.
