Pinarayi Vijayan

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

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

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

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

The Kerala High Court on Friday criticised the Centre and state governments for lack of clarity regarding the disaster relief and rehabilitation fund accounts in connection with the landslides that hit Wayanad in July this year. A bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Mohmmed Nias C P directed that the Finance Officer of the State Disaster Management Authority be present in person on Saturday to present the accounts. The court also posed several queries, including how much funds were required for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the landslides-hit areas of Wayanad and the amount of financial assistance to be provided by the Centre, to which it wanted answers. The queries also included how much amount was there in the relief fund before the disaster, how much was available for use out of it and what portion of the amount allocated by the Centre was utilised. The bench said once these queries are addressed, it will issue further directions. The queries from the court ca

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said though the southern state has low density of HIV-affected persons, the odds of contracting the infection is very high there. The disease prevention activities and awareness programmes have great significance and the state government is making various interventions to keep the disease at bay, he said in a Facebook post marking the "World AIDS Day" today. The CM said the day was a reminder to ensure public participation in the rehabilitation of HIV-infected persons across the world and to contain the spread of the disease. He pointed out that as per the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, it is necessary to create a situation where there are no new cases of the disease by 2030. But, Kerala is going to achieve this target much earlier, he said adding that the LDF government is making comprehensive interventions through the campaign "Onnayi Poojayathilekk" (loosely translated as "Together to Zero") as part of this. "We ar

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday announced the signing of a supplementary concession agreement with Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt Ltd, extending the project timeline by five years. The Vizhinjam International Seaport is now slated for commissioning in December 2024. The project, envisioned as a transformative step in Kerala's maritime infrastructure, will see its second and third phases nearing completion by 2028. These phases will involve an additional investment of Rs 10,000 crore, expanding the port's capacity to 30 lakh Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU). "We have entered a supplementary concession agreement with Adani Vizhinjam Port PVT LTD on @PortOfVizhinjam to extend the project period for 5 yrs & commission the port by December. As the 2nd & 3rd phases near completion by 2028, an investment of ?10,000 crore will be made, expanding the port's capacity to 30 lakh TEU," Vijayan said in a post on 'X'. "This milestone underlines our commitment to comprehensive

The state cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, approved the draft supplementary concession agreement

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday again highlighted the issue of lack of Central assistance for the rehabilitation of those affected by the landslides that hit Wayanad in July, saying that nothing has come from the union government despite several reminders. Vijayan, addressing a public meeting here as part of the campaign for LDF candidate in the Chelakkara assembly constituency, said that months after the disaster -- which claimed over 200 lives and destroyed hundreds of homes -- no assistance had reached the state from the Central government. The CM said that several reminders, including a unanimous resolution passed by the assembly, were sent by the state government to the Centre. "While no assistance has come yet, they have not said no to our request. So, that is a good thing," he said. At the same time, he questioned why Kerala was being ignored when other states affected by natural disasters were provided financial assistance. "Why was Kerala left out?" he ..

Chief Minister Vijayan said that it was apparent that they had not got any training or imparted with awareness of safe working near railway tracks

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to release the Centre's share of Rs 817.80 crore in the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for the Vizhinjam seaport here without imposing the condition that the state has to repay it later. Vijayan, in a letter to the FM, said the condition imposed by the Empowered Committee constituted by the Department of Economic Affairs, that the VGF amount should be repaid by Kerala in Net Present Value (NPV) terms by way of premium (revenue) sharing, would result in a huge loss of Rs 10,000 to 12,000 crore to the state exchequer. "The state is investing resources to the tune of Rs 5,595 crore out of the total project outlay of Rs 8,867 crore. I am sure, the Hon'ble Minister would appreciate that given the financial situation of a small state, like Kerala with limited financial resources, this scale of investment involves tremendous sacrifice on the part of the state. "In addition, as the repayment of Rs 817.80

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to release the Centre's share of Rs 817.80 crore in the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for the Vizhinjam seaport here without imposing the condition that the state has to repay it later. Vijayan, in a letter to the FM, said the condition imposed by the Empowered Committee constituted by the Department of Economic Affairs, that the VGF amount should be repaid by Kerala in Net Present Value (NPV) terms by way of premium (revenue) sharing, would result in a huge loss of Rs 10,000 to 12,000 crore to the state exchequer. "The state is investing resources to the tune of Rs 5,595 crore out of the total project outlay of Rs 8,867 crore. I am sure, the Hon'ble Minister would appreciate that given the financial situation of a small state, like Kerala with limited financial resources, this scale of investment involves tremendous sacrifice on the part of the state. "In addition, as the repayment of Rs 817.80

He also called upon the people of the state to embrace humanistic values that transcend religious, caste, and regional differences

The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to bear the medical expenses of those injured in the fire accident at a temple near Neeleswaram in Kasaragod district that left 154 people injured, eight of them seriously. The incident occurred late Monday night at Anjoottanbalam Veererkavu temple near Neeleswaram when firecrackers stored in the vicinity exploded, according to the police. The decision to bear the medical expenses of those injured in the incident was taken in a Cabinet meeting, the chief minister's office (CMO) said in a statement. Three persons including two temple committee officials were arrested in connection with the incident on Tuesday after a case was registered under the Explosive Substance Act and various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe into the fire accident. Besides that, the additional divisional magistrate has been directed to carry out an inquiry separately into the incident and submi

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday launched a scathing attack against the BJP and the Congress-led UDF, alleging that the Sangh Parivar is misrepresenting Malappuram district, with the grand old party supporting this narrative. Vijayan, who recently faced backlash for remarks linking gold smuggling and hawala transactions in Malappuram to "anti-national activities," said the government is taking strict action against gold smuggling and that crimes should be viewed as crimes, not attributed to any particular community. "There are efforts to link these issues to a specific community, but the government will not endorse that perspective," the CM stated, clarifying his earlier controversial remarks about the Muslim-majority Malappuram district. The opposition Congress-led UDF had targeted Vijayan over his Malappuram remarks, accusing him of unfairly portraying the Muslim-majority district, prompting demands for an apology and clarification. While inaugurating the by-elect

The opposition Congress in Kerala has slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by questioning his silence on the alleged suicide of former Kannur ADM Naveen Babu following corruption allegations levelled against him by CPI(M) leader P P Divya. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan both questioned why the CM was silent on the matter as he did not even convey his condolences to the bereaved family. Terming Babu as an honest and good officer, Sudhakaran alleged that the government was dragging its feet on investigating the matter. Similar allegations were made by Satheesan who claimed that Vijayan and his office were trying to save the culprits behind the alleged suicide of Babu. He also contended that the CPI(M) created a fake document to show Babu was corrupt and save Divya, the former Kannur District Panchayat President. Satheesan also sought to know why District Collector Arun K Vijayan kept silent

The Kerala government on Tuesday made it clear that the pilgrims who visit Sabarimala without virtual queue booking will also be provided smooth darshan at the Lord Ayyappa temple. The Pinarayi Vijayan government backtracked from its earlier decision to provide darshan only through online registration during the upcoming pilgrimage season amidst widespread protest. Chief Minister Vijayan made the announcement in the Assembly, while replying to a submission by V Joy (CPI-M) in this regard. "Facilities for smooth darshan will be ensured for pilgrims who come without (online) registration as well...Darshan will be ensured to those who do not register online and those who come without knowing about the system," he said. Similar facilities had been provided in the hill temple during the last pilgrim season as well, he said. However, the chief minister, during his brief speech, didn't clearly state whether the spot booking system would be maintained as it was in the previous year, along

The Kerala government on Monday said it would continue adopting strong measures to secure further relaxation in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) from the Centre, in line with the state's interests. The central government has approved the draft Coastal Management Plan prepared and submitted by the state to obtain relaxation in the regulation limit for the construction activities on the sea and backwater coasts, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the state assembly. An official announcement in this regard is expected soon, and with this, the state would get related benefits, he said. The CM was replying to a calling attention motion by P Nandakumar on the CRZ issue in the House. In 2019, the union government had issued a notification to allow further relaxation in the Coastal Management Act, and the state appointed a three-member expert panel to study these concessions to make them completely beneficial to the state, he said. On the basis of the committee's report, detailed ...

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday stressed on the need for a comprehensive cybersecurity framework for the financial ecosystem to address the increasing incidents of online financial fraud. He pointed out that the state has already sought joint intervention from the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India in this regard. With the growth of technology, cybercrime is also on the rise by the day, and the cyber police division of the state police is working effectively to check such frauds, the CM said. He was replying to a submission by Anvar Sadath (Congress) in the state assembly. "The state police have been creating widespread awareness through social media pages to guard against cyber financial frauds," the CM said. In Kerala, cyber police stations are there in all districts, and a toll-free number and exclusive website have been launched for people to lodge complaints against cyber crimes, he said. "Over 30,000 bank accounts involved in such frauds have already been