The chief minister and the party secretary were at logger heads for the past several years and Pinarayi Vijayan has successfully emerged as the most powerful leader of the CPI-M in Kerala for the past few years cutting to size Achuthanandan who had in fact promoted Vijayan into the higher echelons of CPI-M power ladder.
Earlier this month, a fresh round of fratricidal firings started after an interview was carried by the party-controlled TV channel 'Kairali' with a businessman, said to be close to Vijayan, who Achuthanandan had called "a hated person."
The 84-year-old Marxist veteran also likened the party's action on Saturday to suspend him and state party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan to 'punishing children when they commit mistakes'.
''This chief minister is so obstinate that he is ready to use the police to attain his goal.' 'Had he been more mature rather than obstinate, Kerala would not have reached a boiling point.'
Mahdhani briefed about his health condition and matters related to the cases against him, Poonthura Siraj, working chairman of PDP, who was with Vijayan, told reporters.
Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday dismissed as wrong the allegations that two nuns belonging to a Kerala-based congregation were "attacked" during a train journey via Uttar Pradesh recently and alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was "making false statements" on the issue.
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.
Kerala CM wrote to EAM S Jaishankar, seeking his intervention in the matter.
The CPI-M official faction, which is in a bitter fight with the octogenarian party leader and Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, has demanded his resignation on the issue of diverse opinion from the party secretariat decision on the multi-crore corruption scam in the SNC Lavalin power project deal in which the CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan is an accused. The CPI-M secretariat has come out against the chief minister in which he is also a member.
Seeking to downplay Communist Party of India's threat to pull out of the Left Democratic Front in Kerala over seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls, the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Friday said the ally could not take such a stand so long it is part of a "national political line."
The war of words over the SNC Lavalin case is continuing in the political landscape of Kerala with the two prominent political leaders in the state out in the streets as part of their state wide yatras.
Stalin, like his father M Karunanidhi did in 2004, may play the king-maker in a way -- not the king, unless the 2024 post-poll circumstances throws up a situation where he alone becomes acceptable to the rest, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The IAF had carried out 517 sorties of Fixed Wing aircraft, airlifting 3,787 people and 1,350 tonnes of load, and 634 sorties of helicopters, winching 584 people and airlifting 247 tonnes of load.
Besides being awarded Padma bhushan in 2011, Madavoor had also received the Sangeet Nataka akademi award in 1997, Kerala Kalamandalam award among others and had performed the world over.
State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan's suspension will also continue.
CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat and Politburo members Sitaram Yechury, S Ramachandran Pillai and R Umanath are expected to attend the meeting on Saturday.
Former head of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church and the longest-serving bishop in India Dr Philipose Mar Chrysostom died of age-related ailments on Wednesday, a church spokesman said.
Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and state Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan were on Saturday suspended from the Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo over a war-of-words in public.
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.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the party would deliberate on its failures and do course correction after internal deliberations.
Vijayan was stopped with bullets and they were taken away from him at the Chennai airport when he was traveling to New Delhi on February 16.
The young IAS officer had returned to the state on March 19 from his honeymoon abroad and had been asked to remain under observation. However, he left for his brother's place in Bengaluru without informing anyone.
'Curiously, Pinarayi's approach, stressing the imperatives of development, is robustly backed by Nitin Gadkari.'
'I stand next only to Gadkari, one of the few outstanding ministers in the Modi government, in applauding Pinarayi's political courage and vision,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Relatives of John Philip have informed the Kerala CM and the external affairs minister that they suspect it to be a case of abduction.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned India's first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in Kochi on Friday, that put India into a select league of countries with domestic capability to build such large war ships.
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.
A day after Suresh, a prime accused who was recently released on bail gave a series of interviews to television channels, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan accused Chief Minister Pinarayi's office of intervening to get the illegal baggage released and helping the accused to leave the state.
Police said 34-year-old Rajesh's left hand was chopped off in the attack which took place around 9 pm on Saturday night.
Accompanied by police personnel, the members of Chennai-based women empowerment outfit 'Manithi' could barely move 100 metres through the traditional forest path towards the temple when hundreds of devotees rushed down to the valley to chase them away.
Drowning, followed by inhalation of water leading to lung failure was the immediate cause of death of the elephant, said the preliminary report prepared on May 28, a day after the elephant, estimated to be 15-year old, died in Velliyar River.
'They don't just kill their enemies, they chop off limbs, sever heads.' 'How can anyone kill a teacher in front of small children and a son in front of his parents?'
'Only when you are close to the party, will you understand what the BJP stands for.'
Moving the resolution, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Centre should re-examine its decision and the operation and management of the airportbe handed over to the Special Purpose Vehicle in which the state government has stake.
As counting is on in the five states - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal -- here's a look at where the heavyweights stand.
Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan has alleged that the 'over confidence of Kerala' in handling the pandemic had caused a spurt in COVID-19 cases in Idukki and Kottayam districts.
'Farewell to the unique artist who loved like a mother and taught many things like a teacher.'
Minutes after she concluded her press conference, she told a TV channel that her colleague Sarith PS, who also worked with her at HRDS India, had been kidnapped in broad daylight from her home by 3 or 4 unknown people.
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.
In the printed copy of his address, prepared by the state government and distributed to legislators and media, there was a reference to the alleged tendency of the central government to 'roughshod' the traditions of cooperative federalism by bypassing the state government.
After a review meeting held at the Pathanamthitta District Collectorate to assess the situation, Rajan and state health minister Veena George said at a press conference that it has been decided to open the Kakki dam to release around 100-200 cumex water which would increase the water level of Pampa river by around 15 centimetres.
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