Page 4 - Kerala

Rahul Gandhi kickstarts Wayanad constituency visit, meets tribal family

Senior Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited the house of a tribal man who was found dead near Kozhikode medical college recently. Vishwanathan (46) was found hanging near the medical college hospital at Kozhikode on February 11, where his wife was admitted for delivery. Gandhi, who reached the Kozhikode airport on Sunday night, visited the house of Vishwanathan in Wayanad district this morning along with party leaders. Gandhi, who represents Wayanad constituency in the Lok Sabha, spent some time with the family, listening to their woes and complaints and consoled them. Kozhikode Medical College police have said that they have already registered a case when the relatives lodged a complained that the tribal man was missing from the hospital. However, Vishwanathan was later found hanging on February 11. The family alleged that some persons had harassed Vishwanathan on February 9 after which he went missing. The kin had charged that some persons accused ...

Recovery of over Rs 7,000 cr revenue arrears pending: CAG to Kerala govt

The Comptroller and General (CAG) of India has found that the Kerala government has failed to collect revenue arrears of Rs 7,100.32 crore, which was outstanding for more than five years and stressed the need for urgent intervention to clear it. The government departments should create a database of outstanding arrears for effective monitoring and follow-up for recovery of arrears, it recommended. The total arrears of Rs 21,797.86 crore amount to 22.33 per cent of the total revenue of the southern state, according to the latest CAG report. "The total arrears of revenue as on 31 March 2021 on certain principal heads of revenue amounted to Rs 21,797.86 crore of which Rs 7,100.32 crore was outstanding for more than five years," it said. The Combined Compliance Audit Report (Revenue Sector), Govt. of Kerala for the period 2019-21 of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India was tabled in the state Assembly on Thursday. "Out of the total arrears, Rs 6,422.49 crore (29.46 per cent)

Former Union Minister Javdekar calls Kerala's state budget 'anti-people'

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union Minister Prakash Javdekar criticized Pinarayi Vijayan-led government for their state budget and termed it an anti-people budget

Kerala budget 2023: Opposition fumes as petrol, diesel, liquor get costlier

Kerala FM KN Balagopal presented the Pinarayi Vijayan 2.0 government's second budget proposing a Rs 2 cess on petrol and diesel in addition to a Rs 20 hike on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL)

Kerala's economy posted strong recovery in 2021-22: State Economic Review

Finance minister KN Balagopal on Thursday tabled the State Economic Review for 2021-22, claiming that the state had posted its fastest growth since 2012-13

Borrowing limit: Kerala FM says Centre has adopted "wrong policy"

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Thursday said the Centre's imposition of cuts in the borrowing limit of the states would adversely impact the southern state's economy, which is yet to completely recover from the challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and back-to-back natural disasters. The BJP-led union government adopted a "wrong policy" to reduce the state's borrowing capacity after including the loans taken by the special purpose vehicles like Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board and Kerala Social Security Pension Limited within the state government's overall borrowing limit, he told the state Assembly. "The cutting down of the borrowing capacity of states to three per cent from the previous five per cent will adversely impact the state's economy," Balagopal said during Question Hour. Despite repeated requests to restore the previous borrowing limit of the states and to avoid the inclusion of the loans taken by the KIIFB and KSSPL in the state's overall borrowing

I struggled, says Kerala journalist Kappan after jail over Hathras case

"I struggled," Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan said minutes after he walked out of jail on Thursday to camera crews, a small curious crowd -- and to his wife and teen son, waiting patiently, just as they had for the more than two years since he was imprisoned on his way to Hathras. The relief was writ large on their faces but so was the pain. Kappan and three others were arrested in October 2020 while they were going to the Uttar Pradesh town where a Dalit woman died allegedly after being raped. They were accused of trying to instigate violence over the death of the Hathras woman. "I am coming to Delhi. I have to stay there for six weeks," Kappan told PTI. "I struggled more," he laughed when asked how life had been in jail without saying anything more. In his two and a half years in jail, his mother died. "Her name was Kadijah. She is not there to see Kappan coming home," Kappan's wife Raihana said. "The Supreme Court granted bail in the UAPA case and his innocence was revealed

Nothing in Union Budget to solve economic disparities in country: Kerala CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said the Union Budget 2023-24 does not attempt to solve the growing economic disparities in the country. Vijayan, reacting to the budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament, said that it only further strengthens the concentration of wealth among corporates. The Chief Minister, in a statement, also expressed the view that the budget has not taken a regionally balanced approach. In the statement, he also said that it was disappointing that the long-sought demand of Kerala for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) or rail development projects in the state, found no mention in the budget.

Kerala: NIA questions 6 journalists on suspected ties with terror outfits

The Hyderabad team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) questioned at least six journalists on suspected ties with terror organisations

Nearly 100 students fall sick in Wayanad school; inspection being done

Close to 100 students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Lakkidi area of Wayanad district of Kerala developed vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain over the last few days, prompting the State Health Department to visit the place and intensify preventive measures. With a large number of students from the boarding school hospitalised over the weekend at the Vythiri Taluk hospital, there were reports of a suspected case of food-poisoning. Subsequently, an expert team of the Health Department carried out an inspection, a release issued by the district administration said. The team collected drinking water samples from the institution and sent them for a test at the Kozhikode Regional Public Health Lab. Stool and blood samples of the children were sent to the Alappuzha Institute of Virology, and the Bathery Public Health Lab respectively, the release said. It further said one child had symptoms of being ill on January 24, 11 on January 27, 20 on January 29 and 66 on Monday of the total

Anil Antony not ready to join BJP, says former KPCC chief Muraleedharan

Former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President K Muraleedharan on Friday asked Congress leader AK Antony's son Anil Antony to return to the Congress party.Anil Antony quit all party posts after "threats" over his posts regarding a BBC documentary.Muraleedharan said that Antony is not ready to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and urged him to return to the party and obey party rules."Anil Antony is not ready to go to BJP. I spoke to him many times. I'm asking him to change his mind & go back to Cong & obey party rules. Congress never forgets the burning of Gujarat MP Ehsan Jafri," Muraleedharan told the mediapersons.Earlier, Anil Antony had alleged that he has received "abuses" and threats" over his tweet regarding the controversial BBC documentary -- "India: The Modi Question".Announcing his resignation from the party posts, Anil said he has not given up the party's primary membership as he would like to remain a Congress leader for now.On Tuesday, Antony had ...

KPCC screens BBC documentary at the Shanghumugham beach for public

Various wings of Congress have already screened the first part of documentary in several parts of the State

Kerala CM accuses Sangh of treating minorities as 'enemies', BJP hits back

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday accused the Sangh Parivar of treating Muslims and Christians as 'enemies of the nation' and urged everyone to unite against such divisive actions, drawing sharp criticism from the BJP. Vijayan said that the Constitution, which was the best weapon to fight against caste discrimination and religious hatred, was presently under attack. The CM alleged that the Sangh Parivar and the RSS have made it clear that their aim was to turn India into a 'Hindu rashtra'. He also accused the party in power at the Centre of being followers of a political group which did not take part in the freedom struggle. "They are attacking the very roots of our country, its democracy and the Constitution," he said while speaking after inaugurating the Constitution Protection Conference and Secular Meet. In his speech at the event held here, Vijayan said that if the Constitution was destroyed, everything -- from an individual's dignity to the sovereignty of th

Diligence, tenacity made India world leader, assume presidency: Kerala Guv

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday said diligence and tenacity of India, the world's largest democracy and home to a sixth of humanity, helped it to emerge as a world leader by assuming presidency of G20 nations. Leading the Republic Day celebrations at the Central Stadium in the State capital of Kerala, Khan said that instead of merely fighting for its survival, India was guiding the world with its mantra of 'act in unison' in tackling global issues like climate change, terrorism, and pandemics. "As a nation, our diligence and tenacity have paid rich dividends, which are visible through a plethora of accomplishments proclaiming our robustness and philosophy of life and enhancing our prestige in the comity of nations," he said at the event also attended by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Vijayan, in his Republic Day message, said that to maintain India as a sovereign, secular and democratic republic and to ensure social, economic and political justice, Constitutional ..

Kerala BJP takes a dig at Congress over Anil Antony's resignation

Hours after Anil Antony, the son of former Defence Minister A.K. Antony, quit the Congress, Kerala BJP chief K. Surendran said that this is the way Congress party functions

Kerala Guv questions BBC documentary's timing when India assumed presidency

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Wednesday questioned the timing of the release of the controversial BBC documentary -- "India: The Modi Question" -- saying it came at a time when India assumed the presidency of the G20. Khan, speaking to reporters here, also said that he is surprised that people are attaching more importance to the opinion of a foreign documentary maker, "that too our colonial masters", than the verdict of the highest court of the land. "So many judicial verdicts, including that of the highest court of the land, the timing, all these things have to be taken into consideration. This is a time when India has assumed the G20 presidency. "Why has this particular time been chosen to bring out this scurrilous material? You cannot ignore these things and particularly when it is coming from a source who ruled over us for over 200 years," the Governor said. He said the intent behind the release of the documentary was to "make India fall into pieces". Khan further sai

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan calls on Centre to set up AIIMS in Kozhikode

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday urged the Union government to set up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the southern state without further delay.

Wayanad becomes first district to digitise tribals' documents, Rahul lauds

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday congratulated Kerala's Wayanad on its becoming India's first district to digitise basic documents of all tribals

Kerala FM Balagopal seeks inputs to revitalise state's sagging economy

Ahead of the state budget to be presented on February 3, Kerala Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal has sought the people's suggestions to reinvigorate the sagging economy of the state

Menstrual leave to students of higher educational institutes: Kerala CM

Kerala CM Vijayan said that in a first in the country, menstrual and maternity leaves would be granted to all women students in all institutions under the State govt's Higher Education Department