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Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of trying to protect the accused in the Sabarimala gold loss case. The incident had hurt the sentiments of Lord Ayyappa devotees across the world, he said, and added that the government was the prime accused in the case. The Congress leader said former presidents of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), A Padmakumar and N Vasu, had already been arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), but they could not do anything alone without "political support". He alleged that CM Vijayan was trying to protect them and others accused in the gold missing case. Referring to the reported reference of Padmakumar about the involvement of a "god-like person" in the case, Chennithala said, "in Marxist party who is god-like other than Pinarayi Vijayan?" "The present investigation into the case is not extending to the ministers as they have the support of the CM and the government. People of the state
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday urged the MPs from the southern state to take up various issues, including approval of the amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act and more financial assistance for rehabilitation of Wayanad's landslide-hit areas, at the Centre. Vijayan, in an online meeting of the MPs and state ministers, said that the state assembly had made amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act, a central law, to ease various obstacles in it with regard to preventing animal attacks. The President's assent is required for bringing the amendments into effect, the CM pointed out and urged the MPs to work towards achieving it, a statement issued by Vijayan's office said. In the meeting, the CM also asked the MPs to exert pressure on the Centre to provide a special assistance of Rs 620 crore under the centrally-sponsored scheme to mitigate human-wildlife conflict, the statement said. He asked them to urge the Centre to increase its share under the Pradhan Mantr
Kerala Labour Minister V Sivankutty on Thursday made it clear that the Centre's Labour Codes would not be implemented in the state. Speaking to reporters here, Sivankutty said that the majority of the states have taken steps to implement the labour codes, but not Kerala. The minister further said that the Union Labour Ministry had called a meeting of all the states last month and there, Kerala had clearly indicated its stand that it would not implement the labour codes. When reporters asked whether the state succumbed to central pressure to prepare the draft regulations linked to the labour codes, he denied it. "If we were succumbing to central government pressure, we would have given a letter accepting the codes. we have not done that," he said. The draft regulation was notified in the state on December 14, 2021. He also asserted that the draft regulations were not prepared in secret. "It was done openly and I recommended in the file that public opinion be sought regarding it.
Congress and BJP workers on Tuesday staged protests in front of the mini civil station at Agali here over the death of a farmer, who died by suicide, on his agricultural land in this north Kerala. The protesters alleged that procedural lapses and delay by revenue officials in providing 'thandaper' (land record number) for his farmland despite repeated visits to the village office forced Krishnaswamy, the farmer, to take the extreme step. The 53-year-old farmer, a native of Kavundikkal in Attappadi, was found hanging from a tree in his farmland on Monday. His family had also alleged that Krishnaswamy took his life after being exhausted by officials not providing thandaper "for his three acres of land". They said that he had been visiting the office for the past six months and he was upset over the delay. Congress workers, who gathered in large numbers in front of the civil station, squatted on the road holding party flags and raised slogans against the government and officials. Th
The Supreme Court on Monday asked to wait for the report of former apex court judge Sudhanshu Dhulia before hearing the plea of Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar seeking the removal of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan from a panel tasked to recommend vice chancellors (VCs) for two state universities. The plea was mentioned by Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for Governor, before a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan. The top law officer indicated urgency and asked the bench to take up the Governor's plea for hearing. Venkataramani said the question of who was the authority to appoint vice chancellors could create complications once the committee's recommendations were submitted. I have a very small request. These applications should not be seen as obstructing any process of Justice Dhulia in this matter. But a subsequent order passed by another bench has restored the Chancellor as the appointing authority, he said. The attorney general was referring to an
Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Tuesday warned against the practice of government hospitals collecting money from poor patients belonging to free treatment categories for surgical equipment, saying it is a violation of the policy of the LDF government. She told the state Assembly that the government would view such instances with "utmost seriousness". The minister's remarks came following a raging political row over shocking disclosures made by a senior government doctor about the shortage of surgical equipment and delays in procedures at the state-run Medical College Hospital here. In a Facebook post, Dr Haris Chirakkal, the Head of the Urology Department, had said the shortage of essential medical equipment led to the postponement of surgeries. He alleged that repeated assurances from authorities had failed to resolve the issue, leaving patients in severe pain waiting for timely treatment. He had also said that due to the systematic procedural delays, they were forced to p
Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal on Sunday said GST rate rationalisation benefits should be passed on to the common people, but if there is no compensation for the annual revenue loss, then states will be unable to continue to meet their social responsibilities. For Kerala, the annual revenue loss due to the GST rate rationalisation is estimated at Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore. Asserting that economic growth should be beneficial for the entire country, Balagopal told PTI that progressive taxation should not mean less tax for all and high-income or high-end luxury goods should be taxed more, which is the general good taxation practice. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which represents the Centre and the states, approved a two-rate GST structure -- 5 and 18 per cent -- on September 3. The revised rates, to be effective from September 22, will bring down the prices of a large number of items. While Kerala has welcomed the rate rationalisation exercise, it is concerne
Two people, including a three-month-old infant, have died from amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare and often fatal brain infection, while undergoing treatment at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, health officials said on Monday. With these deaths, the toll from the amoebic brain fever in the state has risen to three within August, officials said. The deceased infant was the son of Abubacker Siddique from Omassery in this district and had been receiving treatment at the hospital for the past month. His condition worsened on Sunday, leading to his death in the ICU, an official said. The other victim, Ramla (52) of Kappil in Malappuram district, developed symptoms on July 8. She was initially treated at a private hospital and later shifted to Kozhikode Medical College as her condition deteriorated. According to health officials, eight other patients from Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Wayanad districts are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital. Earlier, on August 14, a ...
The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Kerala government to withdraw its pleas against Governor over the delay in approving bills passed by the state assembly. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar passed the order after senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for the Kerala government, sought withdrawal of the plea and said the issue had turned infructuous in view of the recent judgment passed in the Tamil Nadu Governor case. Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the submission and urged the court to await the top court's decision on the reference of President under Article 143 of the Constitution over the grant of assent to bills. On April 22, the top court said it would examine whether the recent judgement on a plea of Tamil Nadu, fixing timelines for the grant of assent to bills, covered the issues raised by the Kerala government in its pleas. Acting on a plea of Tamil Nadu government, an apex court bench on April 8 set asi
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday slammed both the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and the opposition Congress-led UDF alleging the regimes steered by them only created corruption, followed appeasement politics and made Kerala a safe haven for "anti-national forces", like the Popular Front of India (PFI). Addressing party workers here, Shah said only the BJP-led NDA can bring development to the state and not the LDF or the UDF. 'Viksit Bharat' is not possible without the development of strong southern states and the route to 'Viksit Bharat' is only through 'Viksit Keralam,' he said. "Therefore, from now, the basic aim of the BJP will be a 'Viksit Keralam'," he underlined. The top BJP leader said it was more important for the BJP to ensure that its state office here becomes the "centre of Viksit Keralam" than having a Chief Minister. He also unveiled the logo of the party's Viksit Keralam mission. During his speech, he hit out at the CPI(M)-headed LDF and the Congress-led UDF alleging
The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Monday strongly condemned reports that YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who has been arrested on espionage charges, was invited by the Kerala government for promoting tourism in the state. "The Communist Party of India strongly condemns the BJP's attempt to drag the Kerala government into the Jyoti Malhotra espionage case to cover up its own grave failures on national security," CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said in a statement. Kumar said it was outrageous to suggest that a state government was responsible for a YouTuber's travel to Pakistan when passport issuance, visa clearance, and intelligence monitoring are all under the control of the Union government. "Did the Kerala government approve her visits to Pakistan? Did it place her in contact with ISI handlers in Delhi? This is a desperate and politically motivated deflection," he said. He added that the BJP has a long list of embarrassments involving its members linked to "espionage and terrorism." "Dhruv
Kerala Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian on Saturday claimed that the central government has not given a single rupee for protecting the 600-km long coastal area of the state from getting flooded by sea water during the rainy season. According to Cherian, the Centre was requested to provide funds for coastal region protection, "but not a single rupee was given". Despite the lack of aid from the Centre, the Left government has implemented the most number of welfare projects for the people of the coastal region. He was speaking with reference to the recent protests in Chellanam here over coastal erosion and flooding of homes in the area by sea water. He also said the state government was carrying out work for protection of the coastline at various places, including Chellanam here and Chethy in Alappuzha district, but availability of raw materials, like rocks, is a problem. "So, we shifted to tetrapods from rocks. Now we are exploring the possibility of using geotubes and if it can be