Kerala

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said that the cooperation between Kerala and Tamil Nadu is based on the principles of cooperative federalism and called for its expansion to other states to curb frequent interventions in their rights. He was delivering the keynote address at the public meeting held at Vaikom Beach in this district after his Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin inaugurated the renovated Thanthai Periyar Memorial and Periyar Library, established in honour of Dravidar Kazhagam founder E V Ramasamy. Vijayan, who shares a special friendship with Stalin, said the collaboration between Kerala and Tamil Nadu is a testament to cooperative federalism, highlighting the enduring bond between the two states. "This cooperation cannot be described in mere words and is demonstrated through actions," he added. In the current scenario, where there are frequent interventions on the rights of the states, especially economic autonomy, this cooperation should be extended

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to veteran actor-cum-director Balachandra Menon in a case accusing him of outraging the modesty of a female actor in 2007 during a film shoot, saying that men too have "pride and dignity" and not just women. The order and observation by Justice P V Kunhikrishnan came while allowing the anticipatory bail plea moved by the actor against whom the case was lodged in September this year after the release of the Justice Hema Committee report. In his plea, Menon had contended that the complaint was made after a gap of 17 years from the date of the alleged incident in 2007 and the intention was to malign his image. The court said there was "force" in his arguments as it was an admitted fact that the alleged incident happened in 2007. "It is an admitted fact that the victim filed the complaint after 17 years of the alleged incident. It is an admitted fact that the petitioner (Menon) is a known cine artist. He directed about 40 fil

The opposition Congress in Kerala on Wednesday accused the ruling CPI (M) of being "intolerant" towards other political parties and denying them the freedom to freely function even in the home village of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The Marxist party and CM Vijayan were acting with a "dictatorial mindset", which is unacceptable, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan told reporters here. He was speaking after visiting the recently vandalised new Congress booth committee office at Venduttayi near Vijayan's hometown of Pinarayi. The Congress has charged the CPI(M) with "orchestrating the vandalism" on Saturday last. Terming the incident as "highly unfortunate" and "condemnable", he said, "It was in the home village of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that the office of a political party was vandalised and set on fire." The LoP sought to know what kind of democracy prevailed in the state as other political parties were not allowed to function even in the home village of the CM. Sathe

The request comes as the state seeks a larger share of the Rs 616.41 crore divisible pool

Congress MLA Chandy Oommen, the son of late party stalwart Oommen Chandy, on Tuesday said he was not given any responsibilities during the by-poll in Palakkad and claimed that there were instances of people at the lower levels of the party being "sidelined". Oommen said that it was neither correct nor acceptable for party members or supporters to be sidelined. The Puthuppally MLA, however, threw his weight behind KPCC chief K Sudhakaran amidst reports of a complete organisational revamp in Congress state unit in Kerala, saying his removal from the post was not the remedy. He said that Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief Sudhakaran has worked hard for the party and the people of the state and the UDF has scored several electoral victories under his leadership. Therefore, there was no need to remove him and there was no need for any such discussion, he added. Oommen further said it was necessary to keep everyone together while moving forward and it was the duty of the par

Ten cases registered so far as Gulf Bank alleges large-scale loan default by Kerala expats

Coming out strongly against the Union Government's stance that the Viability Gap Fund (VGF) for the Vizhinjam Seaport project should be repaid in installments, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday accused the Centre of maintaining a vindictive attitude towards the state. Addressing the media here, the Chief Minister said that, in a letter responding to the state's request to reconsider the decision on the VGF, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had reiterated the Central Government's stance that the allocation for Vizhinjam should be treated as a loan, not a grant. The Chief Minister criticised the decision, calling it a deviation from the Central Government's long standing policy on VGF grants. Even when VGF was allocated for the Kochi Metro, there was no stipulation for repayment, and the new criteria set exclusively for Kerala contradict the standard guidelines of the VGF, he alleged. The central government has never imposed a repayment condition on any project that

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday strongly criticised the reported claim by Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the state delayed submitting a detailed report on the Wayanad landslide disaster, which allegedly caused the central government to withhold announcing a special financial aid package. Vijayan called the claim baseless and unfair to the affected people. The CM said this is not the first time the union home minister has attempted to mislead Parliament and the public regarding the landslide that had struck in areas like Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, Punchirimattam of Wayanad on July 30. "Previously, the union home minister falsely cited non-existent weather reports to mislead Parliament, alleging that Kerala had been given specific warnings about landslides but failed to act. This claim was promptly disproven with evidence, and the recent statement in Parliament appears to be a repetition of that earlier attempt," he told a press conference here. Vijayan sa

Members of the 16th Finance Commission, led by former NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya, have reached Kerala for a three-day visit, as part of holding consultations for preparing its report. The team was accorded a reception at the international airport here on Sunday under the aegis of state Finance Minister K N Balagopal. According to Balagopal, a detailed memorandum has been prepared to be submitted to the commission. Kerala would make the presentation with proposals to resolve the "imbalance" in the distribution of tax share to the state, he had said, adding that the state would also convince the Finance Commission regarding the steps to be taken to provide the deserving grants on time. On Monday, the Commission would visit Thiruvarpu and Aymanam panchayat areas in Kottayam, and by evening, they will arrive at Kovalam, an official statement said. On Tuesday at 9.30 am, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will officially receive the Commission's chairman and members at the

A day after a Congress office was allegedly vandalised in this Kerala district, the party's state chief K Sudhakaran on Sunday warned that CPI(M) offices could be demolished overnight. Addressing party workers at the inauguration of a new Congress office in Venduttayi, which had allegedly been vandalised by unidentified people on Saturday, Sudhakaran claimed it would only take 10 Congress workers to "bring down" CPI(M) offices in a single night. "We do not promote violence but, if you say it is required, we will retaliate in the same way," he said. "Ten Congress workers will be sent at night and they are enough to demolish CPI(M) offices," Sudhakaran told the party workers. Late on Saturday, a new Congress booth committee office at Venduttayi, near Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's hometown of Pinarayi, was allegedly vandalised. The Congress has accused the CPI(M) of orchestrating the vandalism. Sudhakaran also took a dig at Vijayan and urged him to uphold the dignity expected of

Kerala is not averse to discussing any new project with the Adani group and will do so only if there is a "win-win" situation which benefits the people of the state as well, a senior state minister has said. However, the southern state is not keen to have any big industries which will cause pollution and ecological damage, P Rajeev, the Minister of Law, Industries and Coir, told PTI. The comments from the minister come even as there seems to be some unease among southern states when it comes to dealing with the Adani group, especially after the second richest Indian Gautam Adani and others faced charges of bribing officials to secure contracts. Rajeev said Kerala has a big investment from the Adani group in the Vizhinjam Seaport near its capital Thiruvananthapuram and added that the current government decided to go ahead with the project signed by the predecessors only because the benefits accrued to the state and its people through the ambitious transshipment port. He also clarifi

Says Kerala does not see labour unrest unlike many other states

The BJP on Sunday accused the Left government in Kerala of "failing" to utilise the central funds in the SDRF and the NDRF for the relief and rehabilitation of Wayanad landslide survivors and carrying out "fake propaganda" against the union government. The saffron party said that the Narendra Modi government has provided sufficient funds to Kerala through the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). "The Pinarayi government is sitting on available funds and blames the Centre," senior BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar alleged in a social media post. In a hard-hitting X post, he said the Centre has allocated over Rs 500 crore for this purpose through SDRF, which already has a balance of approximately Rs 700 crore. "The state has failed to utilise the Rs 700 crore in the calamity fund. People world over have donated to CM Relief fund. This is also not used. This is the hypocrisy of LDF and UDF, and their fake propaganda has

Indian priest George Jacob Koovakad being elevated as a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Catholic Church by Pope Francis is a matter of great joy and pride for India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday. He said George Cardinal Koovakad has devoted his life to the service of humanity as an ardent follower of Jesus Christ. "A matter of great joy and pride for India! Delighted at His Eminence George Jacob Koovakad being created a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Catholic Church by His Holiness Pope Francis," Modi said in a post on X. "His Eminence George Cardinal Koovakad has devoted his life in service of humanity as an ardent follower of Lord Jesus Christ. My best wishes for his future endeavours," the prime minister said. In a grand consistory held in the Vatican on Saturday, 51-year-old Koovakad was elevated to the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis. The ceremony, held at the famous St Peter's Basilica and attended by clergy and dignitaries from around the world, witnessed the inducti

Emphasizing that there is nothing to hide over the Justice Hema Committee report, which exposed the shocking harassment and sexual exploitation faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, Kerala Culture Minister Saji Cherian on Saturday said the government is implementing its recommendations. Addressing the media, he stated that the government had adhered strictly to court directives, omitting only the portions the State Information Commission recommended not to release. The matter is currently before the High Court, and there are no objections if the court or the information commission instructs that these portions be made public, Cherian clarified. He underscored the government's commitment to addressing issues faced by women in cinema, highlighting that this is the first time such a committee has been constituted in India. We have disclosed all information directed by the State Information Commission regarding the report and everything is transparent." The minister further s

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday accused the Kerala government of hiking the electricity tariff "to benefit ports-to-energy conglomerate Adani" by bringing it into the power purchase system in the state. Chennithala alleged that the long term power purchase agreement signed during the UDF administration in 2016 to buy electricity at rates below Rs 5 per unit was cancelled during the LDF rule to facilitate the entry of Adani into this system. The Kerala government had on Friday announced a 16 paise per unit increase in electricity tariffs for the 2024-25 financial year, effective from December 5. An additional hike of 12 paise per unit is set to follow in the 2025-26 financial year. The Congress leader said this move of the government makes it clear that it was hand-in-glove with the power producing companies, especially Adani. "Adani is the biggest beneficiary of this move. This decision of the government is aimed at bringing Adani into the power purchasing sys

Record rain was reported in parts of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu due to Cyclone Fengal. Impact also felt in other regions

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who accompanied his sister and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi to Kerala after her maiden electoral victory, on Saturday urged the party and UDF to pressure the state government to help the Wayanad landslides victims. Rahul, at a joint public meeting along with his sister at Mukkam here, began his speech by paying tribute to the victims of the landslides and said his party and the UDF are standing with the people who lost family members, property and suffered in the tragedy. "Unfortunately, we are not in government and therefore, we cannot do what a government can do. So, I told my sister and (AICC general secretary) K C Venugopal that every member of the Congress and the UDF should put pressure on the government of Kerala to help the victims of the landslides," he said. Rahul also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of discriminating against the people of Wayanad, alleging that he was not willing to provide them the support which the

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who arrived in Kerala for a two day visit following her huge maiden electoral win from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, on Saturday said she was "ready to start working" to ensure a better future for the people of the hill constituency. Priyanka said she was happy to come back to Wayanad and will do whatever she can to help the people there. "I am happy to be back here and I am ready to start working and do whatever I can to help the people of Wayanad have a better future," she told reporters outside the Karipur airport here. This is her first visit as MP of the Wayanad LS constituency. She will be holding a joint public meeting with her brother and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at Mukkam in Thiruvambadi assembly constituency in Kozhikode district in the afternoon, according to her itinerary released by the Congress party. Subsequently, receptions will be held for her at Karulai in Nilambur, Wandoor, and Edavanna in Eranad, the party

Priyanka will be accompanied by her brother and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi during her maiden visit as MP