Opposing the contention, the state government had argued that the Railways Act was only applicable to Special Railway Projects and SilverLine did not fall in that category.
He also claimed that the people were asking are all the jobs under Kerala government reserved for cadres and the university jobs for powerful people in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on Saturday Maharashtra's plea for a stay on the Bombay high court order acquitting G N Saibaba, after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's persistent pitch that the acquittal was not on merit but for want of appropriate sanction to prosecute him under the anti-terror law UAPA.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and leadership of the LDF were quick to welcome Jose faction's decision to cooperate with the front.
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.
In a stunning electoral victory, the ruling Communist Party if India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), rode back to power in Kerala winning 99 of the 140 seats, bucking the over four decade long trend of Communists and Congress-led United Democratic Front coming to power alternatively.
Gam secured 67,242 votes against Basumatary's 25,101 while the third candidate, Bhaity Richong of the Socialist Unity Centre of India-Communist, got 2,265 votes.
'Both of us are not politicians. We were forced to enter politics to counter corruption that is looting the country.'
A little over a year after it retained power in Kerala with a massive victory, the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front suffered a huge setback on Friday in a bypoll held to Thrikkakara assembly constituency, with Congress candidate Uma Thomas winning with a historic margin of 25,016 votes, giving a boost to the morale of the party-led United Democratic Front in the southern state.
Kerala Governor Arif Muhammad Khan slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and minister of higher education R Bindu over the issue of appointment in universities and said he is not able to work in an environment where too much political interference.
Flaying both the Congress-led United Democratic Front and Bharatiya Janata Party-National Democratic Alliance and a section of the "right wing" media for trying to tarnish the image of the government and its development and welfare programmes, he said the people have rejected their 'vicious propaganda' by giving the Left a decisive mandate.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front government in Kerala on Monday put on hold the implementation of the controversial amendment to the state Police Act citing criticism from various quarters.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan's move to seek the resignation of vice-chancellors of nine universities has kicked up a huge political storm in the southern state with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday issuing a stern warning to the Constitutional head asking him not to cross the limits of his powers.
'The administration will come to a standstill because the governor will not cooperate with the finance minister.'
CPI-M veteran Pinarayi Vijayan, who led the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to an unprecedented consecutive victory in the April 6 assembly polls, on Thursday took oath as chief minister of Kerala for the second time along with 20 ministers.
A special cabinet which met in the afternoon decided to recommend Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to issue an ordinance to repeal Section 118-A which got his assent on Saturday.
The youth leadership taking the reigns of the states was a rare event in the last century as very few broke the glass ceilings.
The Sikkim Democratic Front got 15 seats in the hill state, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, which came into being in 2013, bagged 17 seats, one more than required for a majority in the 32-member assembly.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has written to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking 'constitutionally appropriate' action against Finance Minister K N Balagopal for making a speech 'undermining unity', a demand turned down by the CM.
'The continuous and mysterious praise of the BJP and the chief minister by AIUDF leadership and senior members have affected the public perception of the Congress party'
Party leaders list three clear positive outcomes -- an activated Congress which has hit the ground running leaving the past inertia behind, an interactive top brass which is directly engaging the people, and a mobilised organisation which was dormant for many years.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa on Tuesday said that the Centre is likely to sign a peace accord with militant organisations from the state's Adivasi communities within September.
The Bombay high court on Monday rejected the bail plea filed by Delhi University's associate professor Hany Babu, who is an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
Expressing solidarity with the people of Lakshadweep, the Kerala Legislative Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution demanding the recall of island administrator Praful Khoda Patel and requesting the immediate intervention of the Centre to protect the lives and livelihood of the islanders.
'He will go to any extent, and he will have the full support of the Union government as they may not like a Left government to continue here.'
The BJP won both the Rajya Sabha seats from Assam.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had moved the resolution at a special session on Thursday which was unanimously passed by the House with the ruling Left Democratic Front, Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front and the BJP supporting it.
She also took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party over its defeat in the just-concluded Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, saying the ruling party's president could not hold on to his home state. "Who is the Pappu now?" she asked.
He also said a total of Rs 38.75 crore, deposited by people in the Karavannur Cooperative bank in this district, which is now facing charges, had already been returned.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan who heads the group said he had submitted the report on the party's performance in Kerala, Assam and Puducherry and that the assessment for West Bengal was underway.
The opposition also made it clear that they have taken over the state-wide protest against SilverLine and would continue the agitation till the government withdraws from the initiative which they termed as "destructive" for the southern state.
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 future belongs to the young; not the old, asserts Shyam G Menon.
The members of the Kerala Council of Churches (KCC), an ecumenical body of churches in the southern state, will conduct the protest march from the Martyr's Column to the Secretariat, the administrative hub in Thiruvananthapuram.
'People should realise that what we are fighting for today is actually for tomorrow, for future generations.'
In Sikkim, the BJP had not won a single seat in the recent assembly polls.
Kerala Minister Saji Cheriyan on Tuesday landed in trouble for his harsh remarks against the Constitution, triggering a huge political row in the state with the opposition demanding for his sacking, but the Left leader later expressed regret and claimed news reports in this connection were 'distorted'.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday alleged that if the Congress-All India United Democratic Front combine come to power in Assam they will open 'all gates' to welcome infiltrators.
Several legislators in states on Monday said they have cross-voted in favour of National Democratic Alliance nominee Droupadi Murmu by not following their respective party lines in the presidential election.
The Bharatiya Janata Party lined up several promises, including a legislation to protect traditions of the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala and a law against "love jihad", while assuring employment for at least one person from each family and free laptops to high school students, in its manifesto for the assembly polls unveiled in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.