Police have launched a probe into the killing of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique from different angles, including a possible contract killing, business rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project, officials said on Sunday.
The massive victory of Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra indicates a tactical course correction post the Lok Sabha debacle, with factors like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's active role in the poll campaign, Ladki Bahin scheme, rise in women voting, and subtle message of Hindutva playing a crucial role.
Heather Constructions has alleged that it was given a contract for construction of Rajiv Gandhi's statue and is yet to receive dues amounting to Rs. 3.5 crore.
In a major organisational rejig ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Saturday appointed Avinash Pande the general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while Sachin Pilot was made the general secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh.
Discord in the Congress in Kerala between Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala has sharpened after the possibility of the latter's entry into the state cabinet with a plum portfolio got dimmed.
The return of former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K.Muraleedharan into the Congress party is almost clear with the state Congress president Ramesh Chennithala and Union Minister Vayalar Ravi supporting his return.
Kerala state Congress president Ramesh Chennithala has called for the resignation of the state Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan from the post following the defeat of the Communist Party of India-Marxist led left front in the local body elections.
'Can you believe Ashok Chavan was with me in the senior leaders' meeting one day, and next day morning, he switched sides!'
Kerala state Congress president Ramesh Chennithala has called upon the government to conduct a detailed investigation into the violence in Kasargod on Sunday, when two Muslim League workers lost their lives.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Patole asserted there are no disagreements within the MVA, adding that discussions on seat-sharing were underway and would conclude soon.
Maniappan was kidnapped on Sunday along with three Afghans from the site of a highway construction project they were working at.
The Congress has appointed observers to coordinate meetings of its legislature party in four states where assembly election results will be declared on Sunday.
The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala has charged the Communist Party of India-Marxist Poliburo of supporting corruption in the party by aligning with the official faction of the party in the multicrore SNC Lavalin corruption case.
The Congress demanded a National Investigation Agency probe into the matter while BJP state chief K Surendran courted arrest for forcefully entering the complex soon after the fire broke out. Fire department sources told PTI that their personnel at nearby Chenkalchoola were informed about the incident at 4.45 pm and by the time they reached the spot, the room was filled with smoke.
A steady stream of mourners led by Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday paid homage to veteran Congress leader K Karunakaran at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram where his mortal remains are kept.
Adding to the humiliation of the victim of the Suryanelli rape case, who has been suffering for the past 17 years, Congress member of Parliament from Kerala K Sudhakaran has said she had moved around "as a prostitute, making money and accepting gift".
A strong demand for ending the culture of nomination at all levels for democratic functioning of the party and its revival was made at the Congress brainstorming conclave in Jaipur on Saturday.
Sule said the intra-family duel in the Lok Sabha polls will not waver her respect for Sunetra Pawar as she is her "elder brother's wife and like a mother".
'Money power was deployed like an army in a war.' 'None of the MVA parties had that kind of money.'
'I was very much aware of what was coming, but not to this extent.' 'If I had expressed what I felt, our campaign would have been in trouble.'
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday snubbed Kerala Chief Minister V S Achutanandan for his comment describing Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi as an 'Amul baby'.
With the Kerala Youth Congress elections round the corner, the bitter rivalry between state party president Ramesh Chennithala and leader of Opposition and former chief minister Oomen Chandy has come to the fore. According to sources, Thiruvananthapuram's beleaguered Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor has extended his support to Chandy, who has stood by the former minister of state for external affairs though the present IPL crisis.
With the Congress still pruning its final list of candidates and the Kerala Congress - Mani and the Socialist Janata Dal sulking over seat sharing arrangements, the United Democratic Front is yet to finalise its list of candidates."There are several issues in the Congress party and the party is now reduced to a pocket organisation of Oomen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala.These two leaders have become so powerful that nobody can challenge them" said a source.
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.
Senior IUML leader MK Muneer said the radical outfit had misinterpreted the Quran and persuaded the community members to adopt the path of violence.
Congress general secretary and party youth icon Rahul Gandhi kick started the United Democratic Front election campaign by addressing the Kerala Raksha march conducted by the state party president Ramesh Chennithala. In his speech, he called upon senior party leaders to start a package for Keralites who are suffering after the global crisis hit the Gulf region which has led to several people from the state returning home.
'Kerala may have the worst physical infrastructure -- potholed roads to overflowing drains -- of the four major southern states, but does anybody care? Given all this you may think Kerala's voters lack any options come Election Day. That would be a mistake.'
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala and Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy discussed in detail various aspects of the former chief minister's return to the party when they met Sonia in New Delhi on Thursday morning.
The statement by the Communist Party of India man in the CPI(M)-led ministry has spurred widespread criticism against the V S Achuthanandan government.
While Muraleedharan said his party would actively work for UDF's victory, Chennitala said he was happy that all Congressmen were reuniting under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi.
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.
While the CPI-M in a statement after the secretariat on Friday maintained that Balakrishnan, who is also a Polit Bureau member, had sought leave for further treatment which had been accepted, the leader of opposition in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala dubbed the move as a delayed dawning of wisdom.
It was a protest which held a mirror to the government of a state taking pride in its commitment to democracy, gender equality and social indices.One person, who in his employed days had known governments and political parties at close quarters, told me that public perception of how the Kerala government handled the ASHA workers' strike had been terrible, reports Shyam G Menon.
In the coming assembly election, negotiations over seat-sharing will be as important as actual outreach to voters.
'How can the voting percentage be higher than the actual polled votes?'
A welfare fund meant for the Indian workers in the Gulf countries is in the advanced stage of finalisation, Minister of State for External Affairs Digvijay Singh said.
Veteran Communist leader and former Chief Minister of Kerala, V S Achuthanandan turned 98 on Wednesday.
'Both the CPM and the BJP have one agenda, and that is to keep the Congress out.' 'That's why they are coming together.'
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed it as a routine transfer.
'While some women allow themselves to be exploited so that they can climb up the ladder, there are many voiceless and silent people who get exploited by men in powerful positions.'
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