Kerala Congress state president Sudhakaran intensifies efforts to retain post, meets A K Antony
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid speculation over change in leadership, Congress state president K Sudhakaran intensified efforts to retain the post even as top contenders Anto Antony and Sunny Joseph continued with their bid to stay in the contest.
Sudhakaran, who chose not to speak to the media, met senior party leader A K Antony at his residence on Monday. Meanwhile, there is growing displeasure among Congress leaders over giving a communal angle to the process of selecting the next party chief. 'Reports that Anto and Sunny are being considered in line with the interest of the Catholic Church will backfire,' a Congress political affairs committee member told TNIE. He said the party state head was never selected on the basis of community before.
'This shows a rift between sections of the Christian and Muslim communities over the Munambam issue. The selection of KPCC president on communal grounds will alienate Muslims,' he said.
There is also anger among senior leaders over the alleged silence of the Leader of Opposition V D Satheeshan, on the issue. 'When the KPCC president becomes a party of a contention, it is the duty of the parliamentary party leader to sort out the issue,' a KPCC leader said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
17 minutes ago
- Mint
Does Trump's $5 million gold card guarantee American citizenship? Here's what US President says
US President Donald Trump launched a waitlist website for the latest visa programme, Trump Card, a ticket to permanent residency in the United States for foreigners who wish to make an investment of $5 million. Notably, this hefty $5 million investment will not guarantee citizenship in the US. While speaking to reporters in February, Trump clarified that he does not need approval from Congress to issue a gold card since it will not guarantee citizenship; nevertheless, it is a 'strong path for citizenship'. However, Trump did not provide details regarding how the gold card will be a path to citizenship. In order to guarantee citizenship in the US, Trump explained that he would need the approval of Congress. One of the common ways to secure US citizenship currently is through naturalisation, which requires being a lawful permanent resident for at least five years. The applicant must be at least 18 years old, able to read, write and speak basic English according to their age group, and be of 'good moral character'. On Thursday, Trump announced the launch of the waitlist website for Trump Card. The website features a gold card with an image of Donald Trump with the name 'The Trump Card'. In his official Truth Social handle, he wrote, 'FOR FIVE MILLION $DOLLARS, THE TRUMP CARD IS COMING! Thousands have been calling and asking how they can sign up to ride a beautiful road in gaining access to the Greatest Country and Market anywhere in the World. It's called THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! THE WAITING LIST IS NOW OPEN. To sign up, go to While describing the benefits of the gold card, Trump said, 'We're going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million, and that's going to give you green card privileges, plus it's going to be a route to citizenship.' He further added, 'Wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card,' Trump said in February. 'They'll be wealthy, and they'll be successful, and they'll be spending a lot of money, and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people.' The US President previously announced that he wishes to replace the EB-5 immigrant investor visa programme, which provides green cards for foreigners who promise to invest in US businesses. Administered by USCIS, the EB-5 programme was launched in the 1990s with the aim of boosting 'the US economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.' Trump highlighted a similar goal with the gold card.
Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
Free sand to beneficiaries to build Indiramma homes: Telangana housing minister
HYDERABAD : The Congress govt will supply sand free of cost for construction of Indiramma houses to the scheme beneficiaries, revenue and housing minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy announced at a programme in Mulugu district where he distributed approval letters of Indiramma houses. Ponguleti directed all the collectors to ensure that sand stockpiles are kept ready and supplied free of cost to beneficiaries. Sources said the govt was also in talks with steel and cement companies for supplying them at a subsidised rate. He said that if beneficiaries begin construction within the next 10–15 days, funds will be released to them every Monday. Forest officials will be instructed to allow people living in makeshift homes within forest areas to construct Indiramma houses at the same locations, he said. Over 9,800 Chenchus were sanctioned Indiramma houses, which, he said, was a historic decision of the Congress govt. "In addition to 3,500 Indiramma houses for Mulugu constituency at the rate of 3,500 for each of the 119 assembly constituencies in the state, an additional 1,500 units were sanctioned in the Integrated Tribal Development Agency limits," he said. Responding to minister D Anasuya Seethakka's request, Ponguleti sanctioned another 1,000 Indiramma houses to the Mulugu and ITDA areas in the constituency. Stating that the incumbent 'Indiramma govt' was synonymous with Indiramma housing, Ponguleti said 25.5 lakh such houses were sanctioned to the poor by the previous Congress govt of the combined AP state in the Telangana region alone. "After the formation of Telangana state, the previous BRS govt, which held power for two terms, sanctioned only 92,000 houses and completed 60,000 of them. Nearly 30,000 houses were left incomplete with only walls standing. The contractors were not paid for their work by the previous regime," he alleged. The minister said there were at least 60 eligible beneficiaries in every village, but currently only about 30 houses per village can be sanctioned. However, he assured that all eligible families will be provided houses in a phased manner in future. "The target of the Congress govt is to construct 20 lakh Indiramma houses with a budget of Rs 22,500 crore over the next four years," Ponguleti said and appealed to the people to observe the welfare schemes being implemented by the Congress govt and support it in the upcoming local body elections. On the issue of Bhu Bharathi (land records), Ponguleti pointed out that during the previous govt farmers had to run from pillar to post for resolution of land issues. Now, revenue officials were proactively reaching out to the people to resolve their problems, he said.
Indian Express
44 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Congress's Revanth Reddy has praise for this old RSS hand: Who is ‘Ajatashatru' Bandaru Dattatreya
At an event held last Sunday in Hyderabad to launch Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya's autobiography, 'Prajala kathe, naa atma katha' (The story of people is my life story), Telangana Chief Minister and Congress leader A Revanth Reddy called Dattatreya an 'Ajatashatru' (one who has no enemies), saying he has been a leader who commands bipartisan respect much like former Prime Minister late Atal Bihar Vajpayee did. Similar sentiments were expressed on the occasion by several dignitaries and leaders cutting across party lines, including ex-President Ram Nath Kovind, former Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, with Kovind describing Dattatreya as a 'rare leader' who has been a 'friend to all'. The 77-year-old Other Backward Class (OBC) leader, Dattatreya, who hails from Hyderabad, started his public life in 1965 when he joined the RSS, the BJP's ideological fountainhead. He was appointed as an RSS pracharak in 1968. He continued to hold various positions within the Sangh and its affiliated outfits till 1979, when he was Seva Bharati's pramukh, before joining the BJP. 'Dattatreya had been one of the BJP leaders since its inception. In 1980, he was posted as the BJP secretary in undivided Andhra Pradesh,' one of his close aides told The Indian Express. In Hyderabad, Dattatreya was known as a BJP leader who used to attend even the smallest of public functions. 'It was not easy to work as a BJP leader then and get the support of people who belonged to various parties back in the 1980s. He undertook this connect with people like a personal mission and succeeded in it to the surprise of many,' a Congress leader said. Dattatreya held different positions in the Andhra Pradesh BJP, including its general secretary from 1981 to 1989. In 1991, he was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from the Secunderabad constituency (in Telangana now). He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha four times from Secunderabad from 1991 to 2014, even though he also suffered losses a few times. 'It was not easy to win over such a long period in Secunderabad as a BJP candidate then. It showed the public trust he enjoyed over the years,' Dattatreya's aide said. The BJP first named Dattatreya as the Andhra Pradesh party unit president in 1996. He again served as the state party chief from 2006 to 2009. Besides, he also played various roles in the party at the central level – from being the party's national secretary to its national executive member and national vice president. He also served as the Union minister of state (MoS) in the governments led by both Vajpayee and Narendra Modi. In the Modi ministry 1.0, he was the MoS (independent charge) of labour and employment from November 2014 to September 2017. During this period he worked closely with various labour unions in the country for the welfare and uplift of workers in both organised and unorganised sectors, his aide said. In his autobiography, Dattatreya states, 'One of the significant strides made during my tenure (as MoS, labour) in 2015 was the substantial increase in minimum wages across both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors.' In 2014, he also served as the chairperson of the parliamentary committee on welfare of the backward classes. A political observer close to Dattatreya told The Indian Express that his elevation in the BJP ranks could be attributed to his proximity to the RSS. 'His rise in the BJP was completely driven by his deep-rooted connection to the RSS. Without the RSS' backing Dattatreya would not have made it to the Union MoS's position'. In his long political innings, Dattatreya has however also faced several controversies. He was booked as one of the prime accused in a case of abetment of suicide of University of Hyderabad (UoH)'s PhD scholar Rohith Vemula. Months before Vemula's death by suicide in January 2016, Dattatreya was accused of having written a letter to then Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani to seek action against some UoH students including Vemula for their alleged 'casteist, extremist and anti-national' activities. Vemula, who identified as a Dalit, had written a suicide note in which he said, 'My birth is my fatal accident', which found resonance across the country as a searing indictment of the country's caste reality. The Hyderabad police however filed a closure report in the case in 2024, claiming that Vemula was not a Dalit and that 'external pressures' did not lead to his suicide. It gave a clean chit to Dattatreya and other accused. Vemula's suicide sparked nationwide protests against the discrimination of Dalit students in educational institutions. Dattatreya had denied any wrongdoing in the matter. 'The BJP did not remove him from his MoS position during this entire episode,' noted a student leader from the UoH. In the Modi government 2.0, Dattatreya was sent to Himachal Pradesh as the Governor. In 2021, he was named the Haryana Governor, a post that he still holds.
