'VS was a man who devoted every moment of his life, from the beginning till his death at the age of 100, to the struggle against the injustices inflicted upon land, nature and the common man.'
With the row over the Mullaperiyar dam escalating, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who directed him to meet Water Resources Minister Pawan Bansal for further discussions on the issue.
'I am the senior most Congress party leader from Kerala, and I don't know why I am sidelined.'
rivals Congress, JMM and TMC and Samajwadi Party.
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.
If a 15 seconds-long mic problem merits a case being registered, then the police risk an avalanche of complaints of similar and greater gravity, seeking their intervention, notes Shyam G Menon.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday said he would not appeal against the Vigilance Court order of a probe into his alleged role in the Palmolein oil import case. "I will not do anything that will hamper the investigation process," Chandy told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. He also rejected the Opposition's allegation that the vigilance probe would not be impartial as long as he (Chandy) continued to be the chief minister.
The editorial, titled "Ahimsa Award for the Executioner?", criticized Congress leader Shashi Tharoor for praising the entrepreneurial growth of Kerala under the Left government. It argued that it was "suicidal" to weaken the party from within when the Congress was actively opposing the shortcomings of the LDF government. The editorial also criticized Tharoor's positive remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent US visit, calling it a mere gesture by two administrators to improve their image.
The resignation of Forest Minister K B Ganesh Kumar following allegations of domestic violence had its echo in the Kerala Assembly on Tuesday where opposition Left Democratic Front demanded that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy should step down on moral grounds.
Maintaining that a Supreme Court appointed panel on Mullaperiyar Dam had accepted Kerala's demand for a new reservoir, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday said the state, which is locked in a row with Tamil Nadu on the issue, would bring it to the court's notice.
Terming Italy's decision not to send back its two marines as a "diplomatic tragedy," Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday said it is the responsibility of the Centre to bring them back to India.
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.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday told DMK supremo M Karunanidhi that Tamilians living in Kerala are "totally safe" and that the apprehensions voiced by him in this regard in the wake of tension between the two states over the Mullaperiyar dam issue were "unfounded".
While the opposition alliance is putting up a united front in Ghosi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand's Dumri, Dhanpur and Boxanagar in Tripura and Uttarakhand's Bageshwar, its constituents are contesting against each other in Dhupguri in West Bengal and Puthuppally in Kerala.
With the standoff between Kerala and Tamil Nadu on the Mullaperiyar dam issue escalating, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday.
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.
The Kerala high court on Tuesday stayed a lower court order directing investigation into the role of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the 1992 palmolein import case. Chandy was the finance minister in the K Karunakaran cabinet when the deal was inked.
The Centre has agreed to consider the Kerala government's request for establishing an Indian Institute of Technology centre in the state, Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy told the assembly on Monday.
Senior leader K Karunakaran and his son Muraleedharan boycotted the swearing in ceremony.
Oomen Chandy poll rival remanded to custody
Senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy is set to become the Kerala chief minister with Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday opting out of the race for the top post. A meeting of the senior party leaders held at the KPCC headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram unanimously decided Chandy should lead the United Democratic Front ministry. The Congress Legislature Party meeting scheduled in Thiruvananthapuram later on Sunday will formalise the decision
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Sunday said the United Democratic Front government's top priority is implementing the SmartCity IT project in Kochi after sorting out issues in the agreement the previous government had with promoters, Dubai based Tecom "which are against the state's interests."
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.
Stating that the temple is a pride of Kerala, Oommen Chandy said, "It is the duty of the state and society to preserve the wealth." However, it was for the apex court to take a final decision on the matter, he added
A Kudumbashree worker, who had gone missing last week, was found allegedly murdered and buried in a ditch in the compound of a former colleague's house in Tuvvur in this district, police said on Tuesday.
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.
Suspending the vigilance court orders for two months, the high court also directed its administrative section to consider action against the vigilance court judge.
Seeking the mandate for the 10th time after nine wins in a row is something rare in the slippery terrain of Kerala politics. But not so in the case of Congress's chief ministerial probable Oommen Chandy, who is back in the fray in his pocket borough Puthupally.
The political rhetoric of Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan was not going to help the ruling Left Democratic Front in its 'losing battle' for the assembly polls as people of Kerala were keen on a change of rule, senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy said on Monday.
erala and Tamil Nadu will be going to polls on May 16 and ahead of the assembly elections, Rediff Labs analyses who's been making the most buzz
High voter turnout was recorded in most of the seven assembly constituencies in six states where by-elections were held on Tuesday.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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".
'Maybe this has created some minor issues which can happen in any party.'
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.
