A health inspector from the Thiruvananthapuram corporation, Anuroop, has been arrested in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl from Andhra Pradesh at a spa in Kovalam. The arrest follows an investigation by a Special Investigation Team, which also led to the arrest of spa owners. The case involves cash transactions between the inspector and the establishment, and the girl's maternal aunt and her husband have also been taken into custody.
The Congress-led UDF is set to move a no-confidence motion against the BJP-led administration in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation. This move comes as the BJP faces a fragile majority, exacerbated by a councillor's arrest and the invalidation of oaths for 20 councillors. The UDF cites administrative paralysis and mismanagement, while the LDF's stance on supporting the motion remains a key factor.
The Kerala high court has ruled that elected local body representatives must take their oath strictly as prescribed by law, invalidating oaths that included names beyond "God" or solemn affirmation. The court directed affected councillors to retake their oaths within four weeks, clarifying that while their elections remain valid, actions by a panchayat member whose oath was invalid are also invalid.
BJP leader V V Rajesh was elected mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, marking the party's first-ever victory in a municipal corporation in Kerala. The election saw other mayoral contests across the state, with UDF and LDF also securing victories.
'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 Congress-led UDF secured a decisive victory in Kerala's local body elections, dealing a blow to the LDF, while the BJP gained significant ground, including winning control of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the ruling Left and Congress in Kerala, raising the Sabarimala gold loss issue and accusing the Congress of aligning with hardline elements. He urged voters to choose the BJP for development and good governance.
Kerala's voters are sophisticated, educated, and unforgiving. They have once again made it clear that no government is entitled to remain in power. The Congress would do well to remember this, points out Ramesh Menon.
Beggars will be taken to a special rehabilitation centre.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticizes Kerala's ruling Left government over the Sabarimala gold loss case, demanding a neutral investigation and accusing the government of protecting the real culprits. He also signals the start of the BJP's campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections.
A college student and a Communist Party of India-Marxist member, she was administered the oath of office by collector Navjot Khosa at the corporation council hall.
The Kerala High Court has criticized both the ruling front and the opposition in the state for holding public meetings that block public roads and footpaths. The court observed that the December 5 incident, where the CPI(M) held a conference outside the Vanchiyoor court complex in Thiruvananthapuram, was a "clear case of breach of trust" as the government holds the roads as a trustee of the people. The court has directed the police to submit a report by December 16 identifying those involved in the meeting, including those who attended and were seen on-stage in news reports. The court also pointed out that the stage for the meeting was constructed right on top of the pedestrian/zebra crossing, completely blocking the carriageway on one side of the road. This caused traffic snarls and inconvenienced pedestrians, including school children, infants, and elderly persons. The court said that provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and other laws, like the Motor Vehicles Act, would be applicable to the incident.
'I was embarrassed that I was learning a martial art form at 55. I thought what will people say? I kept it a secret even from my husband.'
If everything goes as expected, Arya, now a second year graduation student of a Thiruvananthapuram college, would not only become the new mayor of Kerala's capital, a position held by several significant personalities in the past, but also the youngest ever mayor in the country.
Regarding Satheesan, he said that "if we see each other at the venue, then we will see".
Houses in low lying areas of Kerala were flooded in the heavy rains, while the accompanying strong winds uprooted trees, damaged homes and caused power disruptions, throwing normal way of life into disarray across the state.
The police identified the driver and the vehicle through the CCTV footage of the area.
While Lok Sabha members across party lines demanded an inquiry, hundreds of students continued their protests near Rau's IAS Study Circle in the west Delhi locality where the horror unfolded Saturday night, killing the three students trapped in the basement illegally used as a library as floodwaters rose outside.
What some of our leaders were up to on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.
Some NGOs and individual petitioners have moved the apex court against the decisions of some high courts, including the Bombay high court and the Kerala high court, to allow municipal authorities to deal with the stray dogs menace as per the rules.
The sharp spike in recent weeks continued unabated in the southern states.
The LDF was also leading in 10 out of the 14 district panchayats and 108 block panchayats of the total of 152, according to the State Election Commission figures.
'This obsession with 'one' is not good for a country like India.'
The LDF lost Kochi and Thrissur corporations but managed to retain power with a wafer-thin margin in Thiruvananthapuram and held sway over Kollam city civic body with a comfortable majority.The UDF swept the municipalities in Malappuram, Kottayam and Idukki district and also put up an impressive performance in Ernakulam, Wayanad and Kasargode.
Ruling Congress-led UDF in Kerala on Saturday suffered a setback in the civic elections, billed as the semifinal ahead of next year's assembly polls, as CPI-M-led LDF won a majority of local bodies while the BJP made inroads improving its performance.
Beginning with the bird's eye view of itself -- a narrow state of hills, rivers and high population density, in a tapering part of the Indian subcontinent. It can be a beautiful place shaped by aesthetic founded in appropriate lifestyle and progressive views, or a junkyard shaped by money and what money buys. The choice is Kerala's, notes Shyam G Menon.
Over 20,000 passengers returning from mainland China and Hong Kong underwent thermal screenings at the seven international airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin
What will Indian cities do about its growing mountains of waste?
Maharashtra has reported 31 positive cases, Kerala 19, Uttar Pradesh 11, Delhi and Karnataka six each, Ladakh three, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Telangana two each; and Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab one case each. The total number of confirmed cases also includes 17 foreigners -- 16 Italian tourists and a Canadian, it said.
In times of social distancing, thousands of people are dying alone without a last glimpse of their loved ones who are unable to reach them.
'Amit Shah was, briefly, a stockbroker before devoting himself to politics. By instinct or training, he knows the value of keeping blue chips in one's portfolio.'
The humiliating rebuff given to the power brokers in Delhi in Kerala's local body election carries a big message: Malayalis thoroughly disapprove of the Modi government's shenanigans to misuse central agencies to destabilise a genuinely popular state government, notes M K Bhadrakumar.
The LGBT community in Mumbai, as in parts of India, longs for acceptance, freedom and equal rights and to spread this message a group of 15 people gathered at Mumbai's Marine Drive to ask for hugs. And acceptance.
'We say we are proud to be Indian. Can we be proud of such an India where its people are hungry and on the streets?'
This classification of districts is to be followed by states and union terrotories till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.
While some CMs suggested reopening economic activity in phases, others pitched for the extension of the coronavirus lockdown, but with a carefully crafted exit strategy
I am not a quitter. I was with the United Nations for 29 years. I don't know whether I will have 29 years in politics, but I don't intend to end with just 5 years, Dr Shashi Tharoor tells rediff.com's Shobha Warrier
