Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan, revenue minister in the United Democratic Front cabinet in Kerala, has been in the midst of the Mullaperiyar dam row. Radhakrishnan was serving as the irrigation minister when he met and negotiated with O Paneerselvam, the representative of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. In an interview with rediff.com's Shobha Warrier, minutes after holding an emergency meeting in Thiruvavananthapuram, Radhakrishnan talks about the escalating feud.
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.
Singh has also sought details from the Finance Ministry on the issue, said Chandy who raised objections before the Prime Minister over the reported move by the Government to levy the tax on the money of Indians working abroad.
Expressing displeasure over moves to deny classical status to Malayalam language, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday informed the assembly that Kerala would fight for it as it is the state's right.
Unfazed by criminal charges against him over his controversial speech about the party eliminating its foes in the past, Communist Party of India - Marxist Idukki district secretary M M Mani on Sunday said the party would resist the "politically motivated" moves of the United Democratic Front government to frame him in a criminal case.
Protesting against Forest Minister K B Ganesh Kumar's lewd comment against Communist Party of India (Marxist) veteran V S Achuthanandan, opposition Left Democratic Front on Friday forced the adjournment of Kerala Assembly for the day despite Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Kumar expressing regret over it.
Six passengers, whose protests near the cockpit led the pilot of an Air India plane to sound a hijack alert at the airport in Thiruvananthapuram, were on Thursday questioned by the police. In Kochi, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy continued to target Air India, saying there was "some lapse" on the part of the airline for allegedly failing to properly inform the agitated passengers about the delay in the flight, leading the pilot to press the hijack button in panic
Kerala government has given approval to a five-tier security system for the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple which has crores of rupees of valuables locked up in its vaults.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said Italy's stand on the return of two of its marines to India to face the trial for killing two Indian fishermen has violated all norms of diplomatic discourse.
Italy on Thursday asked the Kerala government to implement the guidelines outlined in the Geneva Agreement for war prisoners in the case of two Italian marines, who were arrested and lodged at the Central prison in Thiruvananthapuram in connection with the killing of two Indian fishermen.
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 government has sanctioned Rs.1.54 crore to purchase modern cameras and other equipment to strengthen security at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, where a huge treasure trove was found recently.
Opposition members were up on their feet, holding up placards and banners seeking the resignation of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and other ministers over corruption allegations.
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".
With the United Democratic Front securing power with a thin majority of 72 seats in the 140-member assembly in Kerala, tough administrative and organisational tasks are awaiting Congress as the lead partner in the bipolar scenario.
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.
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.
After roping in eminent technocrat Sam Pitroda as Kerala's "development mentor", the Congress-led UDF Government plans to utilise the services of E Sreedharan as his term as MD of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is to end next month.
Livid over the U-turn made by Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval in the Italian ship case, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Saturday sought his immediate withdrawal from the case.
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.
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.
Routes abandoned by long-haul Gulf carriers like Emirates and Etihad have given Indian low-cost carriers an opening. But can they compete with Air Arabia?
Infosys Ltd will set up a new campus at Technocity here, estimated to cost Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion), providing a boost to the IT sector in the state.
In a boost to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala on Wednesday retained the Piravom assembly seat with its candidate Anoop Jacob winning by a margin of 12,070 votes. While Anoop Jacob (Kerala Congress-Jacob), a constituent of the UDF, garnered 82,756 votes, Left Democratic Front's S M J Jacob got 70,686 votes. Bharatiya Janata Party's K R Rajagopal polled 3241 votes. There were nine candidates in the fray.
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.
Thousands of Communist party of India-Marxist workers in Kerala on Wednesday laid siege to the government secretariat during a protest that forced Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to reach his office around 5 am, hours before a cabinet meeting.
The report filed by Vigilance SP V N Sasidharan said Chandy was not aware of the details of the decision to import palmolein through a Singapore based firm.
Kerala on Tuesday said it is ready for joint control with Tamil Nadu and the Centre, if a new dam is built in place of the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar reservoir, over which the two states are locked in a dispute.
The UDF ministry in Kerala headed by Oommen Chandy was today expanded with the induction of 13 more ministers -- nine from Congress, three from Indian Union Mu7slim League and one from Kerala Congress-Mani.
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."
Ratcheting up its pressure in the snowballing Mullaperiyar dam row with Tamil Nadu, the Kerala Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a resolution insisting on a new dam to replace the 116-year old reservoir.
Congress candidate R Selvaraj defeated the CPI-M's F Lawrence by a comfortable margin of 6,334 votes in the June 4 bypoll whose outcome has come as a morale-booster to the one-year old Oommen Chandy ministry. Selvaraj had resigned as CPI-M member of the assembly in March this year citing serious differences with the party leadership, causing the byelection, before joining Congress
Seeking urgent initiative by the Centre on the vexed Mullaperiyar dam issue, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday and stress on the importance of holding early talks between the state and Tamil Nadu to defuse the crisis.Chandy will leave for New Delhi on Thursday afternoon to meet the prime minister. A special meeting of the state cabinet late on Wednesday night decided to convene an urgent one-day sitting of the assembly.
Says the company encroached on people's land; will decide later if two of its wind mills can continue.
The stage is set for the re-entry of K Muraleedharan, son of veteran leader late K Karunakaran, to the Congress as the state leadership is planning to formally appeal to party president Sonia Gandhi to take him back. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala on Friday said he and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will meet Gandhi early in February to request the re-admission of Muraleedharan, who broke ranks with the parent body six years ago.
In a setback to Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, a vigilance court in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday ordered a probe to ascertain if he had any role in the 1992 palmolein oil import deal as the then finance minister in the K Karunakaran government.
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
Locked in a bitter row with Tamil Nadu on the Mullaperiar Dam issue, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Monday maintained that the safety of the century-old dam was a "concern" for his state and that a new structure was a solution "where both sides win."
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.
Voicing Kerala's readiness to walk the extra mile to resolve the Mullaperiyar Dam row, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said he was even willing to enter into a tripartite agreement and enact a law assuring Tamil Nadu that it will get "same quantity" of water from the new dam.
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