Thiruvananthapuram, July 21 (IANS) Former Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar has been re-appointed Vice-Chairperson of the Kerala State Planning Board, marking his second stint in the key policy-making body and signaling the V.D. Satheesan government’s emphasis on administrative experience and fiscal reforms.The 78-year-old former top bureaucrat had earlier headed the Planning Board during the Oommen Chandy-led UDF government’s 2011-16 tenure, when he played a pivotal role in steering the stat…
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Thiruvananthapuram, July 18 (IANS) The latest confrontation between Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and KSU state president Aloysius Xavier may have been triggered by the controversy over the appointment of Government Pleaders, but within the Congress, few believe the dispute is merely about legal appointments.Rather, it is widely seen as the latest manifestation of the factional politics that has defined the Kerala unit of the party for decades.From the bitter rivalry between K. Karunakaran and …
Thiruvananthapuram, July 15 (IANS) Former Oommen Chandy aide Tenny Joppen on Wednesday said he had been made a scapegoat in the politically-sensitive solar scam to target the late Chief Minister, hours after the Kerala High Court permitted his removal from the list of accused in one of the cases linked to the controversy.The High Court allowed Joppen to be deleted from the array of accused in the case filed by businessman Mallely Sreedharan Nair, after the complainant informed the court that he …
Thiruvananthapuram, June 27 (IANS) The CPI-M’s long-held claim that it pursued a policy of reducing liquor consumption through regulation rather than prohibition has come under renewed scrutiny, with official documents and administrative decisions from the previous LDF-led Kerala government painting a sharply different picture of its decade in power in the state. Fresh disclosures relating to the grant of bar licenses and the entry of multinational liquor giant Bacardi into Kerala’s low-alcohol …
Thiruvananthapuram, June 25 (IANS) Veteran Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran has once again emerged as a thorn in the side of the V.D. Satheesan-led Kerala government, publicly attacking the proposed tax structure for low-alcohol beverages in the State Budget and demanding that the provision be dropped when the Finance Bill is introduced in the Assembly.A former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president, Lok Sabha member, Speaker and Minister, Sudheeran has for decades built his political identit…
Thiruvananthapuram, June 22 (IANS) The controversy over the Kerala government’s budget proposals to promote production of low-strength liquor and explore mining activities along the state’s coastline has snowballed into a major political challenge for the V.D. Satheesan government, with senior Congress leaders stepping in to question the moves.The issue gained further momentum after veteran Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran joined the debate, reviving memories of his strong interventions on liq…
Thiruvananthapuram, June 20 (IANS) A political storm erupted on Saturday over the Budget proposal allowing a lower tax structure for low-alcohol beverages, with former Kerala Excise Minister and CPI-M leader M.B. Rajesh attacking the move and the present Excise Minister M. Liju dismissing allegations of a new liquor policy. Reacting to Rajesh’s charges, Minister Liju said the Budget announcement by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan was only a financial exercise involving taxation of wine and liquor …
Thiruvananthapuram, June 19 (IANS) After more than two-and-a-half decades as a legislator, Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan presented his maiden Budget on Friday.With the presentation of the revised State Budget for 2026-27, CM Satheesan also entered the rare list of Kerala Chief Ministers who have presented a Budget while in office, a distinction earlier held only by R. Sankar and Oommen Chandy.Beginning his speech with figures from the White Paper on Kerala’s financial position, CM Sathe…
Thiruvananthapuram, May 21 (IANS) In a moment that blended parliamentary tradition with rare political theatre, seven-time Congress legislator Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan was on Friday elected Speaker of the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly after a historic three-cornered contest that underscored the new political equations in the state.For the first time in the history of the Kerala Assembly, the election to the Speaker’s post witnessed candidates from all three political formations represent…
Thiruvananthapuram, May 20 (IANS) Bringing an end to days of intense negotiations and political uncertainty, Kerala’s United Democratic Front (UDF) government on Wednesday finally completed the allocation of portfolios in the 21-member ministry led by Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan, marking the formal beginning of a new political chapter in the state.The last time a Congress-led UDF government assumed office in the state was in 2011 under the leadership of Oommen Chandy. The new ministry, howeve…