Thiruvananthapuram, July 5 (IANS) Even as Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala is attempting to cleanse the state of the drug menace, the police force under his control has come under serious criticism after a young man who had undergone bypass surgery alleged that he was brutally assaulted while in custody in connection with a POCSO case that police now believe was based on a fabricated complaint. The controversy has raised fresh questions over alleged police excesses and the handling of sen…
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Alappuzha, July 4 (IANS) Hoping to breathe fresh life into one of Kerala’s oldest traditional industries, the V.D. Satheesan government is planning to roll out a “One Coir Product for Every Home” campaign during the Onam season, urging households and government offices alike to purchase at least one coir product.The proposal, aimed at reviving domestic demand for Kerala’s iconic natural fibre products, emerged as the centrepiece of a comprehensive strategy to rescue the crisis-hit coir sector.Th…
Thiruvananthapuram, July 4 (IANS) The ruling Congress in Kerala appears headed for yet another round of bitter factional infighting, with simmering discontent over Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan’s style of governance spilling into the open and threatening to overshadow the UDF government’s early weeks in office. The latest flashpoint comes amid growing allegations from a section of the Congress that major policy and administrative decisions are being taken without consulting the party organisatio…
Thiruvananthapuram, July 4 (IANS) The curtain has come down on the first session of Kerala’s newly-elected Assembly with an outcome few had predicted. Contrary to expectations, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan emerged as the clear political winner, while Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan, who had dominated the House for a decade as an unchallenged Chief Minister, struggled to make an impact from the Opposition benches.For nearly ten years, Vijayan towered over Assembly proceedings. Neither the Opp…
Kochi, July 3 (IANS) The Kerala government said on Friday that the formation of a Special Task Force, led by the State Police Chief Ravada A. Chandrasekhar, to intensify the fight against drug trafficking as part of the next phase of ‘Operation Toofan’, the state’s flagship anti-narcotics campaign. Inaugurating ‘Toofan Jagaran’ at Perumbavoor, State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the new task force would coordinate anti-drug operations across Kerala and lead efforts to dismantle inter-sta…
Thiruvananthapuram, July 1 (IANS) A surprise visit by former Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran to the official residence of Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday has triggered political speculation, with the purpose of the meeting remaining unclear.Surendran, one of the tallest CPI(M) leaders in the state capital city, who arrived riding a scooter accompanied by another person, told waiting reporters that he had come to meet the minister with a recommendation on behalf of h…
Thiruvananthapuram, June 29 (IANS) The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has sought an explanation from the officials in charge of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Development Studies at Neyyar Dam after a BJP study camp was held at the Congress-owned institution, triggering a political controversy.The controversy erupted after the institute’s hall was rented out for a two-day study camp of the BJP’s Kattakkada Assembly constituency committee on June 27 and 28.The camp, inaugurated by BJP st…
New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Friday launched a blistering critique of the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala following its Budget proposal to reduce taxes on low-alcohol content beverages, calling it the “darkest spot in the history of Congress surrendering the country’s national interests”.Addressing the media, the BJP MP said: “After remembering the darkest hour of Indian democracy yesterday, remembrance of Emergency, today is another black spot in the entire histor…
Thiruvananthapuram, June 24 (IANS) Escalating his government’s crackdown on the narcotics menace, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan has reached out to his counterparts in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, seeking a coordinated regional offensive against interstate drug trafficking networks that have increasingly turned South India into a major transit and distribution corridor.In letters sent to the three Chief Ministers, Satheesan called for stronger cooperation under Kerala’s flagship anti-dru…
Thiruvananthapuram, June 23 (IANS) The controversy over the quality of water used in water cannons during the Kerala Police action against AIYF and AISF activists spilled further into the political arena on Tuesday, with expelled Congress leader Rahul Mamkootathil stepping up his attack on the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Opposition on the issue.In a social media post accompanied by three photographs, Mamkootathil questioned the credibility of the Left opposition’s explanation of the water used during…