As an IAS officer in Kerala, Gyanesh Kumar -- who the Congress described as Amit Shah's 'right hand man' -- had a good working equation with the state's Congress and Left leaders.
The Kerala Assembly passed a bill allowing for the establishment of private universities in the state. This marks a significant policy shift for the CPI(M)-led government, which had previously opposed privatization of education. The bill was passed by voice vote following discussions on Monday and Tuesday. The opposition raised concerns about the potential impact of private universities on public institutions and questioned the practicality of the requirements for starting a private university. However, the government defended the bill, stating it was a necessary step to improve higher education in Kerala and elevate public universities to global standards.
Asserting that the safety of its people is of utmost importance, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday said the state does not have any "secret agenda" to pursue in the Mullaperiyar dam issue.
Locked in a bitter row with Tamil Nadu on the Mullaperiar Dam issue, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Monday maintained that the safety of the century-old dam was a "concern" for his state and that a new structure was a solution "where both sides win."
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who has been under attack from the Communist Party of India - Marxist over the solar panel scam, on Friday met Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and discussed the political developments in the state.
Suspending the vigilance court orders for two months, the high court also directed its administrative section to consider action against the vigilance court judge.
A minor fire followed by smoke at the venue of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's mass contact programme held here amid tight security gave tense moments to police and other officials on Friday.
The political fight erupted a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government has evacuated the families from Libya and that the Centre was committed to work for welfare of Indians living abroad. Kerala goes to polls on May 16.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Kollam visit to take stock of the temple firework tragedy was a "big relief" for the people of Kerala, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said in Kochi on Friday.
Gandhi who visited the accident site and also met the injured, promised to do "whatever is possible" to provide succour to those affected by the massive tragedy.
'I am the senior most Congress party leader from Kerala, and I don't know why I am sidelined.'
A day after Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was injured in stone pelting allegedly by Left Democratic Front workers in Kannur, police on Monday booked 17 Communist Party of India-Marxist activists for attempt to murder as the ruling and the opposition engaged in blame game over the incident.
The 'Solar panel' scam, which has brought the office of the Kerala chief minister under a cloud, rocked the state assembly on Monday with the Left Democratic Front opposition stepping up their demand for Oommen Chandy's resignation and a judicial probe into the matter.
Kerala CM Oommen Chandy said the decision to exclude him from the function of unveiling of former CM R Sankar's statue at Kollam by PM Modi was a "painful experience".
Voting for by-elections to seven assembly constituencies of six states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Tripura, West Bengal, and Jharkhand, started on Tuesday at 7 am.
'Maybe this has created some minor issues which can happen in any party.'
Beleaguered Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who is under attack from the Communist Party of India - Marxist-led Left Democratic Front opposition ever since the solar scam broke out in June, has got a breather after the Front called off its two-day secretariat siege on Tuesday.
Chandy said Modi had kept mum on the controversy and what Keralites want is not his silence, but an unconditional apology from the prime minister.
Throwing his weight behind tainted India pacer Shantakumaran Sreesanth, Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy on Sunday said it is "wrong" on the Board of Control for Cricket in India's part to not revoke the ban on the fast bowler after a Delhi Court dropped criminal charges against him in the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal in the 2013 edition.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will convey the state government's 'serious concern' over Italy's refusal to send back two marines who have been accused of shooting to death two fishermen off the state's coast in February 2012.
"The issue is not what someone has said. The issue is about starvation deaths and condition of tribal children in the state," Shah told reporters at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.
The suggestion was made by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at the on-going Pravasi Bharatiya Divas at Kochi.
The chief minister, who reached the hospital amid protest by Democratic Youth Federation of India activists alleging lapses in the probe, consoled the mother of the victim and said steps would be taken to provide a government job to the victim's sister to support her family.
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.
In a legal and political setback to the Congress-led United Democratic Front government in Kerala, a vigilance court on Friday turned down its move to wind up the palmolein import graft case dating to 1992 when late Congress veteran K Karunakaran was the chief minister.
As India inches closer towards the general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has emerged as the most searched chief minister on search giant Google.
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.
Discord in the Congress in Kerala between Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala has sharpened after the possibility of the latter's entry into the state cabinet with a plum portfolio got dimmed.
Singh has also sought details from the Finance Ministry on the issue, said Chandy who raised objections before the Prime Minister over the reported move by the Government to levy the tax on the money of Indians working abroad.
The UDF ministry in Kerala headed by Oommen Chandy was today expanded with the induction of 13 more ministers -- nine from Congress, three from Indian Union Mu7slim League and one from Kerala Congress-Mani.
Livid over the U-turn made by Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval in the Italian ship case, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Saturday sought his immediate withdrawal from the case.
In November last year, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy took off on a 'road trip' that spanned across all fourteen districts in the state. The initiative -- a Mass Contact Programme -- was organised over a two-month period. During the programme, Chandy met and interacted with lakhs of people who shared their problems with him.
The report filed by Vigilance SP V N Sasidharan said Chandy was not aware of the details of the decision to import palmolein through a Singapore based firm.
Seeking urgent initiative by the Centre on the vexed Mullaperiyar dam issue, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday and stress on the importance of holding early talks between the state and Tamil Nadu to defuse the crisis.Chandy will leave for New Delhi on Thursday afternoon to meet the prime minister. A special meeting of the state cabinet late on Wednesday night decided to convene an urgent one-day sitting of the assembly.
Thousands of Communist party of India-Marxist workers in Kerala on Wednesday laid siege to the government secretariat during a protest that forced Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to reach his office around 5 am, hours before a cabinet meeting.
Oommen Chandy said the name of Gujarat was mistakenly deleted from the national anthem in some textbooks.
. Congress, on a high after clinching a deal with breakaway leader K Karunakaran's outfit, is contesting in 77 assembly segments, 17 less from last elections.
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