Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday declared the southern state as India's first fully e-governed state where an entire range of government services have been digitised so that they can be provided to the citizens promptly and transparently.
The chief minister's office said the special team will be headed by IG Sparjan Kumar and will include four senior women IPS officers of the state.
Shruti, who lost her entire family in the Wayanad landslide disaster and later her fianc in a road accident, began a new chapter of hope by joining government service. The state cabinet had recently decided to provide a government job to the young woman, who had endured back-to-back tragedies. She joined the Revenue Department as a clerk in the mountainous district, expressing gratitude to the government for its support during her difficult times.
"Everyone knows the situation in Kerala. Amit Shah should tell what is wrong here...minorities in Karnataka face widespread attacks whereas religious minorities are safe in Kerala," the chief minister said, adding that Kerala is the only place where the 'communal propaganda of Sangh Parivar' is not working.
'It was very clear in the Parliament election that there was an erosion of Hindu votes in southern Kerala from the CPI-M to the BJP.'
The Kerala state governor R S Gavai has allowed the prosecution proceedings against the Communist Party of India-Marxist Kerala state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, who was the power minister in the E K Nayanar cabinet during 1996.
Vijayan said that the trailer of the Hindi film, at first glance, appears to be "deliberately produced" with the alleged aim of creating communal polarisation and spreading hate propaganda against the state.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday filed a chargesheet against Communist Party of India - Marxist Kerala Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan in a graft case. After receiving Governor R S Gavai's sanction four days ago to prosecute 69-year-old Vijayan, overruling the state cabinet recommendation, the CBI filed the 11-page chargesheet in a special court in Kochi, naming Vijayan and eight others as accused in the case.
In the fresh complaint, the woman allegedly stated that Mamkootathil had grievously exploited, assaulted, and emotionally abused her under "the false promise of marriage."
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.
Former Kerala Chief Minister and veteran CPI(M) leader V S Achuthanandan, a key figure in Kerala's political history, died on Monday at the age of 101. He was a founding member of the CPI(M) and served as Chief Minister from 2006 to 2011.
'Here is a woman who has got widespread appreciation for her work.' 'Social media was full of posts wanting her as the chief ministerial candidate.' 'This kind of popularity did not go well within the party.' 'See, today the party is Pinarayi Vijayan!'
Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list commenced in nine states and three Union territories on Tuesday, amid objections from several parties with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading the anti-SIR offensive in West Bengal with a rally in Kolkata and alleging 'silent, invisible rigging' through the exercise.
Ending weeks long suspense, Kerala Chief Minister and CPI-M politburo member V S Achuthanandan has taken part in the yatra taken out by party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.
A death threat against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was received at the state police headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, police said on Thursday.
In a new twist to the politically sensitive graft case in which he is an accused, CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan today filed a petition in a special court in Kochi seeking direction to the CBI to question Defence Minister A K Antony, the then chief minister of the state.
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.
Turning the heat on senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Pinarayi Vijayan, the Kerala High Court on Thursday asked the Left Front government to act independently without 'political compulsions' while deciding on the Central Bureau of Investigations plea to prosecute him in the SNC-Lavalin graft case.
Aam Aadmi Party's Gopal Italia on Monday won from Gujarat's Visavadar assembly constituency and his party also retained Punjab's Ludhiana West seat while the Congress-led United Democratic Front wrested Nilambur from the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala, according to results of assembly bypolls in four states.
According to the minister, the government views the incident with utmost seriousness.
The Left Democratic Front-led Kerala government on Wednesday accepted the Advocate General's advice against granting permission to prosecute former minister and CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan in the SNC Lavalin corruption case.
The CM expressed hope that budding athletes and sportspersons in the state can take inspiration from his achievement and adopt the same attitude of hard work and dedication shown by the Indian shuttler.
Two Union Ministers visited the family of a 23-year-old woman in Kothamangalam who allegedly took her own life due to harassment by her lover. The family is demanding an NIA probe into the incident, alleging forced religious conversion.
Mahdhani briefed about his health condition and matters related to the cases against him, Poonthura Siraj, working chairman of PDP, who was with Vijayan, told reporters.
The split in the Kerala Communist party of India - Marxist grew wider on Wednesday, with Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan defying the politburo line on Governor R S Gavai's decision to give sanction to prosecute Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan in a corruption case, saying it neither shocked nor surprised him.
The government wants the state to be renamed as 'Keralam' in the Constitution and all the official records.
'Parents only realise the trap in which their children fell after losing money. Some exploit children for sexual acts such as pornography and the narcotics trade.'
'There will be no change of seats for Delhi, Assam and Maharashtra.' 'Andhra, J&K, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana will lose seats while there will be an increase for MP, UP, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.' 'It is a big mistake if you make it a north-south issue.'
The Kerala state advocate general, C.P.Sudhakara Prasad, has given his opinion in the multi-crore corruption case involving the Communist Party of India-Marxist state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and has opined that the prosecution need not take any action against the former state electricity minister.
Three elderly people died in a stampede caused by two elephants becoming agitated after crackers were burst during a festival at the Manakulangara Temple near Koyilandy, Kerala. The elephants ran towards a building, causing a wall to collapse and trapping people. The stampede also resulted in around 20 people suffering minor injuries. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed condolences, and investigations are underway to determine if there were any violations of elephant management rules.
'Curiously, Pinarayi's approach, stressing the imperatives of development, is robustly backed by Nitin Gadkari.'
'I stand next only to Gadkari, one of the few outstanding ministers in the Modi government, in applauding Pinarayi's political courage and vision,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prominent businessman Boby Chemmanur was taken into custody on Wednesday by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the sexual harassment case filed by Malayalam actress Honey Rose, official sources said on Monday.
A tweet in Malayalam by Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, soon after his meeting with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the Emirates, has gone viral on social media as several expatriate Malayalis shared it on their virtual platforms.
Tharoor's recent remarks on Kerala's industrial growth sparked controversy within the Congress state unit.
A Central Bureau of Investigation court in Kochi issued summons to Communist Party of India-Marxist Kerala state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and eight other accused in a graft case on Tuesday.
Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, suspended from the party over sexual misconduct allegations, attended the Kerala Assembly session, claiming his presence was not in defiance of the party. The move has drawn criticism and sparked reactions from various political leaders.
While Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala mockingly called the CM as "the most knowledgeable" person in the state who has the habit of terming priests "wretched creatures" and "ignorant", BJP leader V Muraleedharan said that Vijayan's remarks indicate that he continues to be intolerant towards those who disagree with him.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday urged various banks to write off the loans availed by landslide victims and survivors in Kerala's Wayanad.
The Kerala police on Thursday launched an investigation into an alleged social media campaign against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's Facebook post requesting help for the people affected by the landslides in Wayanad district. The campaign was aimed at motivating people to reject the CM's appeal for disaster relief, it said.
The minister clarified the government's position on Zumba dance, a high-energy fitness programme introduced in schools in Kerala by the General Education Department as part of its anti-drug campaign, facing opposition from certain Muslim groups who argue that it went against moral values.
