'It was a war-like situation, but instead of enemy fire, we fought against the vagaries of nature,' says Major Seeta Shelke.
Days after violence erupted over a survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal, an imam of another mosque was fined Rs 2 lakh for allegedly using a loudspeaker at high volume. The incident occurred in the Anar Wali Masjid, prompting authorities to take action. The imam, identified as Tahzeeb, was fined and granted bail, with orders to refrain from similar conduct for six months. The incident comes amid ongoing tensions in Sambhal following the November 24 violence during a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, which resulted in four deaths and several injuries. The incident has become a major political controversy, with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra raising the issue in Parliament.
'Maybe this has created some minor issues which can happen in any party.'
'Heavy rains are not the primary reason for landslides in Wayanad.' 'There are all sorts of (human) intervention going on in that area.'
Oommen Chandy said the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee has requested Gandhi to contest from Wayanad but he has not commented on the proposal.
Rahul Gandhi, who is seeking a successive term from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, has declared assets of over Rs 20 crore in his nomination papers.
The Congress' announcement that the party chief will contest from Wayanad evoked sharp reactions from the Left and Right of the political spectrum.
The Congress chief will also be contesting from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
Amid intense speculation over whether he would contest the Lok Sabha polls from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he would abide by his party's decision on it.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launched a scathing attack on the BJP in her maiden Lok Sabha speech, accusing the government of trying to weaken the Constitution and prioritizing the interests of one individual over the people. She criticized the BJP's alleged attempts to change the Constitution, the growing monopoly of the Adani Group, atrocities on women, and the demand for a nationwide caste census. She also challenged the BJP to hold elections using ballot paper, saying it would expose the reality.
'The global climate system doesn't look at where the carbon dioxide is coming from. 'It may be emitted by the US, but it will not remain above the US alone but covers the whole world.'
Helpless local residents could do nothing but watch the man's struggle and urged authorities to swiftly rescue him.
'Gandhi could have chosen to contest from some other constituency where the BJP was strong -- Karnataka or some other state'
He said Priyanka could have been a wonderful candidate in Varanasi as well, especially looking at how good the Congress candidate did against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'Kerala will witness a lot of fireworks in Wayanad and a kind of fight that it has not witnessed so far.'
'The larger story of systematic destruction, which can and has been quantified, goes mysteriously missing from any political and/or public discourse about the ongoing devastation in the Ghats,' notes Prem Panicker.
The specter of how the Munambam issue was exploited during the November by-elections is proof of the price Kerala is paying for its emergent politics. Controversies become the stuff of slow-burn and brinkmanship. The former promises mileage; the latter searches for an advantage, notes Shyam G Menon.
'Indira Gandhi was a very weak person,' Kangana claimed. 'She had many crutches around and was constantly seeking validation.'
Modi said that Congress' tally in the Lok Sabha polls will be an "all-time low"
Five wards in two panchayats of Malappuram district were declared as containment zones and directions have been issued not to gather in large numbers.
The Centre has issued a fifth draft notification to declare over 56,800 square kilometres of the Western Ghats across six states, including 13 villages in Kerala's landslide-hit Wayanad, Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), inviting suggestions and objections within 60 days.
'Till 10 pm last night, we rescued 70 people, after which we had to stop because of bad weather and rain.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is planning to celebrate the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, being organised in Ayodhya, in a grand manner in Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
In the event that like in the 17th Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi again gets locked out of the House, the Congress needs a second-in-command who will keep the momentum going inside Parliament, notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Thushar is the son of Vellappally Natesan, who is the general secretary of the influential Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, which works for the welfare of Ezhava community, a backward caste with sizeable population in the state.
'Rahul Gandhi is the face of the INDIA alliance. If he contests against a BJP candidate and defeats her/him, it will send a strong message.'
According to reports, Rinson Jose is the founder of Bulgaria-based firm which had facilitated the sale of the pagers to Hezbollah.
Questions that the state had come to recognise over time but consistently delayed treating seriously because doing so requires an overhaul of perspective and lifestyle, notes Shyam G Menon.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
In 2019, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi won the seat by a margin 1,67,178 votes against Dinesh Pratap Singh.
The Congress said BJP MPs had sticks in their hands and Kharge was threatened and pushed.
The Wayanad MP, who is on two-day visit to his constituency in poll-bound Kerala, also took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on MGNREGA.
Wayanad, on the southern tip of the Western Ghats, is as enchanting as it is rejuvenating.
'People should realise he is an impact player, like Virender Sehwag.' 'You don't expect these players to score a 70-80 every time they bat, but whenever they score they will win matches for your team.'
Kharge also hit back at the BJP for criticising his party colleague Rahul Gandhi over a copy of the Constitution with a red cover. He showed a picture of PM Modi gifting a similar copy to former president Ramnath Kovind.
The Congress continued its losing spree on Saturday posting its worst-ever show in Maharashtra and ending up a distant junior partner to the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Jharkhand, further diminishing its role in the opposition bloc as other allies perform better.
Curbs under Section 163 (power to issue an order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which were set to expire on Sunday, have now been extended till December 31 in Sambhal.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday alleged a 'well-planned' conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, where a team of Congress MPs led by Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit on December 4 amid restrictions imposed by the district administration.
A suspected case of mpox infection has been reported from Malappuram district of Kerala after a man who recently returned from Dubai showed symptoms of the disease.
'The entire electorate of Wayanad is joyful. Rahulji is with us and we are with him wherever he is.'
