Although the CPI-M has emphasised that the railway panel's post is its top choice, Congress floor managers have already conveyed to the comrades that 'it will be difficult' to fulfil their dreams. The CPI-M is likely to get the chairman's seat in the Standing Committee on coal and steel or energy.
'The police just stood there watching our people being attacked.'
The victory of the expelled Communist Party of India-Marxist leader A P Abulla Kutty as the Congress candidate from the Kannur assembly constituency with a massive margin of 12043 votes has sent shock waves across the CPI-M camp.
While the BJP received the highest amount, securing Rs 1,685.63 crore, the Congress received Rs 828.36 crore, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rs 10.15 crore.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Monday castigated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly targeting a book by a senior Indian Police Service officer on the plight of Muslims in the state, charging it reflected her 'fascist' and 'intolerant' attitude.
A college student was killed and several others injured in a clash between supporters of CPI-M and Trinamool Congress at Nakkatigachh in Cooch Behar district, the police said.
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.
Terming as "rigged" the death sentence to ousted Iraq president Saddam Hussein, the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Sunday denounced the Iraqi High Tribunal verdict and demanded intervention by the UPA government to get it rescinded.
Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar asserted that there would be no compromise on Bharat Mata.
'We will inform them how Pakistan not only helps terrorists, it also provide training to them to target India and spread terror.'
The politics of Communist Party of India-Marxist in Kerala has turned murkier after the CPI-M politburo giving total support to the tainted party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.
In a strongly-worded press release, the Maharashtra State Committee of the Communist Party of India Marxist has slammed the arrest of two girls, who posted comments questioning the total shutdown in the wake of Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's death on Saturday.
"The CPI-M, which is facing its downfall, is attempting to come back through violence," Shah said, adding that the BJP would reply to it through votes.
The editorial came amidst the ongoing tussle between Arlekar and the Marxist party-led Left Democratic Front government over the usage of 'Bharat Mata portrait' during official functions being held in Raj Bhavan.
The CPI(M) on Tuesday termed the winning of trust vote by the Manmohan Singh government as the "sad day" of Parliamentary democracy as it was accompanied by charges of bribery and horse trading.
The Communist Party of India Marxist on Monday congratulated its Himachal Pradesh unit for its "historic win" in the mayoral elections in Shimla. In direct elections, CPI-M nominees trounced Bharatiya Janata Party candidates for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor of Shimla.
Communist Party of India-Marxist and anti-acquisition Bhoomi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee activists on Monday exchanged fire in trouble-torn Nandigram in east Midnapore district amidst reports of a gunshot injury to one person.
In an unusually candid admission, the CPI-M blamed corruption and dishonesty among its leaders at the village level for the party's poor show in the recent panchayat elections across the state. "Not everybody in the CPI-M-controlled zilla parishads, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats is honest. We have corruption in our functioning. Even though they are few in number, we have to find out how this happened," CPI-M state secretary Biman Bose said.
The ruling CPI-M in West Bengal on Wednesday night said controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen should "leave the state" if her stay disturbs the peace.
Suspected Maoists killed a local Communist Party of India-Maoist leader after raiding his house at Barabazar, about 50 km from Purulia, early on Thursday morning and fled towards the Jharkhand border, a senior police official said.
Ahead of the Left meeting on Thursday to decide on Presidential poll, Pranab Mukherjee has reached out to CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat to seek his support but did not get any commitment.
Seeking to capitalise on the large number of non-Congress and non-Bharatiya Janata Party parties having "substantial support and strength in the country," the All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Monday entered into an alliance in Tamil Nadu for Lok Sabha polls.
The Election Commission has said it will allow suspected fake voters to cast their ballots in the Palakkad assembly by-poll, but will take action against them later. The CPI(M), Congress, and BJP have accused each other of enrolling fake voters. The by-poll is scheduled for November 20.
Doctors said his condition was "critical but stable."
'The size has left no room for negotiations and pressures. From the very start the signal has gone that this is the ministry and it will remain,' Sitaram Yechury said.
Charging Home Minister P Chidambaram with adopting a 'partisan approach', the Communist Party of India - Marxist on Monday said the purpose of his letter to the West Bengal government on the alleged role of armed CPI-M cadres was meant to 'serve the political interests of Trinamool Congress'. The party also sought an explanation from him, saying the media was briefed about his letter to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee even before it reached the state government.
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.
Biman Basu, the senior-most Marxist leader in the country, pays homage to a comrade he has known and admired since the 1980s.
The Web portal of the Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece, published an article (withdrawn later) that the Christian community holds many acres of land, far more than Waqf property.'
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.
Karat admits that creation of the Third Front was a wrong move.
Mahila court judge M Rajalakshmi, who convicted Gnanasekaran on May 28, awarded sentences in respect of each 11 charges proved by the prosecution against him. The sentences run concurrently, the judge added.
Sitaram Yechury strived to have the country's Left movement shed its doctrinaire approach to India's socio-cultural complexities and stitch electoral and social alliances to fight the Sangh Parivar.
The display of RSS founder KB Hedgewar's portraits during a temple festival in Kollam district has sparked controversy in Kerala, prompting the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to request a report from its vigilance wing. The images of Hedgewar were reportedly displayed along with the photos of prominent social reformers like Sree Narayana Guru and B R Ambedkar during Kollam Pooram festival here on Tuesday night. TDB sources said the management of Puthiyakavu Temple, a local shrine in the district which does not come under its ambit, is allegedly responsible for the showcasing of the images of the RSS leader during the "kudamattam" as part of the Pooram festivities.
At a time when none in Kerala's Left politics questioned the chief minister's authority, MLA P V Anvar hurled a series of accusations against Pinarayi Vijayan's government, notes Shyam G Menon.
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.
According to police, CPI-M legislator K Bhimrao and other party supporters were arrested from Guindy railway station in Chennai.
The two day Communist Partyof India-Marxist state committee meeting which is significant after the Polibureau decision of demoting the octogenarian leader and Chief Minister of Kerala ,V S Achuthanandan from the party polibureau will begin in Thiruvananthpuram on Tuesday.