The Kerala government on Saturday announced that a township will be established in a secure area to rehabilitate those displaced by the catastrophic landslide that occurred in the Mundakkai region of Wayanad district.
The arrest of two Catholic nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion has ignited a political controversy, with opposition parties criticizing the arrest and the Chief Minister defending the police action.
Training his guns directly at the Kerala Chief Minister and the Left wing Students Federation of India, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Tuesday claimed that his car was 'attacked' by Students' Federation of India (SFI) activists at the behest of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Intense rains lashed Kerala on Sunday, uprooting trees across the state, including one that fell on a moving train in Thrissur and another that caused a fatality in Kozhikode. Houses were damaged, rivers were in spate, and shutters of some dams were raised as the southwest monsoon gained strength. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) placed five northern districts - Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod - under a 'red alert' for the day, predicting extremely heavy rainfall there.
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.
Vijayan met Ghosh at Kerala House in New Delhi, expressed solidarity with their protest and also gifted her a book, 'Halla Bol: The Death and Life of Safdar Hashmi' by Sudhanva Deshpande. Ghosh had suffered head injuries during the January 5 attack on JNU students in the campus by a group of masked assailants.
Originally Friday (June 6) was marked as holiday for Bakrid. However, following the reports that the festival would be celebrated on Saturday across the state, on Thursday, the Kerala government announced that Saturday, June 7, will be a public holiday for Bakrid.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, along with his ministers, sat on a dharna in front of the Reserve Bank of India office in Thiruvananthapuram protesting against the Centre's move to "destroy" the cooperative sector in the state under the cover of demonetisation process and also took pot shots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'Our vision is to innovate as many products as we can and solve as many problems as possible.'
"A first step in this direction is the new project launched by Kerala to eradicate extreme poverty. A survey, that is being conducted as part of it, will be completed within four months," the CM said.
Thousands of TMC supporters thronged the rally route, waving the party flags, raising slogans and holding aloft colourful posters.
Vijayan had extensively travelled across the state as part of the electioneering for the assembly polls which was held on April 6.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has strongly criticised Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane for calling Kerala a "mini Pakistan", saying the remark is "highly provocative and condemnable". Vijayan said Rane's comments expose the Sangh Parivar's approach towards Kerala, which he said involves alienating and spreading hate campaigns against the state. He also criticised the leadership of the ruling party for not reacting to Rane's "serious breach of oath". Vijayan called for all democratic and secular forces to unite against the Sangh Parivar's "hateful propaganda".
There are 13 new faces, including two women, in the cabinet. Five ministers had held positions in previous LDF ministries.
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.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday filed a defamation case in a local court against Communist Party of India-Marxist veteran V S Achutanandan.
Congress stalwart and four-time chief minister K Karunakaran was on Saturday cremated with full state honours as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a large number of people paid adieu to the colossus of Kerala politics. After the family members performed the last rituals, a gun salute was accorded and Seva Dal volunteers paid their respects.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had paid his last respects to the departed leader at the Thrissur town hall earlier in the day.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday issued a warning of significant rainfall in Kerala due to cyclone Fengal, currently positioned as a strong low-pressure area over northern Tamil Nadu.
Congress stalwart and former Kerala chief minister K Karunakaran was on Thursday admitted to a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram in a serious condition with fever and breathing problems, but showed slight improvement and was responding to the treatment, doctors said."He was in a highly critical condition when brought to the hospital. But by afternoon, he began responding to medicines. He opened his eyes and seems to have recognised his daughter Padmaja," said a doctor.
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.
The Election Commission on Friday rebuffed Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan for his reported statement that central police force (CPF) personnel would be confined to barracks during by-polls to three assembly seats in the state tomorrow.
Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, who is also a member of the Communist Party of India Marxist politburo, has openly come out against the CPI-M's stance on People's Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasser Madani .The veteran leader, while fielding questions at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, said that the government would investigate whether any cases were pending against Madani. An unabashed Madani welcomed the chief minister's statement.
Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthananadan on Sunday hit back at Rahul Gandhi for his jibe at the Communist party of India-Marxist stalwart on his age, calling him an "Amul baby". Achuthananadan also countered Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his criticism that the Left rule had done serious damage to Kerala and West Bengal, asking him not to speak with "hangover of a former International Monetary Fund officer".
Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, whose head may be on the chopping block, has decided to go hammer and tongs against his bitter rival in the Communist Party of India-Marxist, Pinarayi Vijayan. While answering questions on the party secretary's comment about the inclusion of a new nominee from the Janata Dal in to his cabinet, the Chief Minister said that it was not the party secretary (Vijayan) but the Left Democratic Front which is the ultimate decision maker.
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed in Madhya Pradesh to investigate the deaths of 14 children in Chhindwara, suspected to be linked to a toxic cough syrup. The investigation includes arrests, exhumations, and a ban on the implicated cough syrup.
A telephone call threatening that a bomb would be placed at the official residence of Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthandandan received by the police control room in Thiruvananthapuram.
State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan's suspension will also continue.
After seven days, he has tested negative and was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, said hospital officials.
Union Minister Nityanand Rai launched a scathing attack on Congress, stating that the party takes "pleasure" in insulting Bihar and its people.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from northwest India around September 15. This year's monsoon covered the country earlier than usual, resulting in surplus rainfall and extreme weather events.
A delegation of Opposition leaders in Maharashtra, including Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, and Raj Thackeray, met with the state's chief electoral officer to raise concerns about alleged irregularities in the poll process, particularly regarding the voters' list, ahead of local body elections.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
In November last year, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy took off on a 'road trip' that spanned across all fourteen districts in the state. The initiative -- a Mass Contact Programme -- was organised over a two-month period. During the programme, Chandy met and interacted with lakhs of people who shared their problems with him.
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.
'In the past, our movement was against the colonisers, but presently our struggle against communalism is a movement against those who stood with the colonisers'
A day after calling Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi an "Amul baby", Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on Monday described Defence Minister A K Antony as Kumbakarna, saying he was caught napping when terrorists attacked Mumbai.
Oommen Chandy said the name of Gujarat was mistakenly deleted from the national anthem in some textbooks.
