Latest news with #LDF-led
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Roof sheet collapse: Congress files complaint with human rights panel
Leader of the Opposition in the Thrissur Corporation Rajan J. Pallan and deputy leader E.V. Sunilraj have lodged a formal complaint with the Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), demanding legal action against officials responsible for the collapse of a roof sheet from a building owned by the Thrissur Corporation onto Municipal Office Road recently. The incident occurred on May 23, followed heavy rain and gusty wind. The metal roofing, installed atop a multi-storey building owned by the Corporation, had been in a dangerously unstable condition since April 22 due to a storm. Despite being aware of the risk, officials failed to take any preventive measures for over a month, the complainants alleged. No one was injured, but it was purely due to luck, the Opposition leaders stressed. Even 15 days after the incident, the LDF-led Corporation council has taken no action against those responsible, Mr. Pallan said. The official involved with the construction work is a known sympathiser of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], and hence the inaction, he added. 'Unsafe buildings' He further criticised the Corporation for not demolishing structurally unsafe buildings and accused the CPI(M) leadership of attempting to shield negligent officials. The Opposition warned that if such efforts continue, they would escalate protests both within and outside the council. 'We will not accept a Mayor or a ruling council that puts the lives of citizens at risk,' Mr. Pallan said.
Indian Express
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Row over Tharoor's jibe at Vijayan govt's 2023 aid to Turkey, CPI(M) leaders hit back
Amid India's global outreach on Operation Sindoor through multi-party delegations, a row erupted in Kerala over the LDF-led state government's financial assistance to Turkey after it was struck by an earthquake in 2023. While Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP and chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, criticised the CPI(M)-led Kerala government's Rs 10-crore aid to Turkey two years ago as 'misplaced generosity', the CPI(M)'s Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas called Tharoor's comments 'selective amnesia'. Both Tharoor and Brittas are members of the delegations on Operation Sindoor sent to various countries to rally global support for India's war against terror emanating from Pakistan. Tharoor is leading a delegation visiting the US, Panama, Guyana, Brazil and Colombia. Brittas, the CPI(M)'s Rajya Sabha Parliamentary Party leader, is a member of another multi-party team led by JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, which is headed to Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. In the backdrop of reports that Pakistan used Turkish-made drones during the recent conflict with India, Tharoor, in a post on X on Friday, said, 'I hope the government of Kerala reflects on its misplaced generosity, after seeing Turkey's behaviour two years later! Not to mention that the people of Wayanad (just to take one Kerala example) could have used those Rs 10 crores far better.' Tharoor was also referring to a series of devastating landslides that hit Wayanad, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency, in July 2024 that led to around 300 deaths and wiped out large tracts of three villages in the district. Hitting back at Tharoor over his jibe at the Pinarayi Vijayan government, Brittas said on X, 'Have great regards for Shashi Tharoor. But these comments are symptoms of selective amnesia. It is as amusing as puzzling why he had to belittle Kerala when he knows very well the Narendra Modi government itself had launched Operation Dost to help Turkey. Kerala bashing is unwarranted.' 'Operation Dost' was initiated by the Modi government in 2023 to send aid to Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of a major earthquake that hit the two countries. India had sent relief material, rescue personnel and other supplies, while the Kerala government had received a sanction from the Centre to send Rs 10 crore aid to Turkey. Referring to Tharoor's criticism of Kerala's aid to Turkey, CPI(M) leader and state Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Saturday said, 'It is not a misplaced generosity. At the time of a major disaster, we had to take a humane approach. The aid was handed over to Turkey through the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). It is wrong to club that gesture of 2023 with the border crisis of 2025. In 2023, the state supported Turkey on humanitarian grounds. Two years later, giving a wrong interpretation for that assistance to Turkey is not the right approach.' After the Wayanad landslides – to which Tharoor referred to say that the funds given to Turkey could have been used by the state itself – the Kerala government had sought assistance of Rs 2,000 crore from the BJP-led Centre for rebuilding efforts there. Subsequently, the LDF government had blamed the Centre for not providing a special package for the Wayanad victims. The CPI(M) is currently undertaking a district-wide march in Wayanad to protest the Centre's alleged neglect of the district. With Turkey facing a backlash in India over its drones being used by Pakistan during the military confrontation between May 7 and 10, India asked Turkey last Thursday to be sensitive to its concerns. 'We expect Turkey to strongly urge Pakistan to end its support to cross-border terrorism and take credible and verifiable actions against the terror ecosystem it has harboured for decades. Relations are built on the basis of sensitivities to each other's concerns,' the MEA's official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Tharoor flags Kerala quake aid to Turkey, Brittas reminds him of Centre's Op Dost
Amid India's global outreach on Operation Sindoor through multi-party delegations, a row erupted in Kerala over the LDF-led state government's financial assistance to Turkey after it was struck by an earthquake in 2023. While Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP and chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, criticised the CPI(M)-led Kerala government's `10-crore aid to Turkey two years ago as 'misplaced generosity', the CPI(M)'s Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas called Tharoor's comments 'selective amnesia'. Both Tharoor and Brittas are members of the delegations on Operation Sindoor sent to various countries to rally global support for India's war against terror emanating from Pakistan. Tharoor is leading a delegation visiting the US, Panama, Guyana, Brazil and Colombia. Brittas, the CPI(M)'s Rajya Sabha Parliamentary Party leader, is a member of another multi-party team led by JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, which is headed to Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. In the backdrop of reports that Pakistan used Turkish-made drones during the conflict with India, Tharoor, in a post on X on Friday, said, 'I hope the government of Kerala reflects on its misplaced generosity, after seeing Turkey's behaviour two years later! Not to mention that the people of Wayanad (just to take one Kerala example) could have used those `10 crores far better.' Tharoor was also referring to a series of devastating landslides that hit Wayanad, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency, in July 2024 that led to around 300 deaths and wiped out large tracts of three villages in the district. Hitting back at Tharoor over his jibe at the Pinarayi Vijayan government, Brittas said on X: 'Have great regards for Shashi Tharoor. But these comments are symptoms of selective amnesia. It is as amusing n puzzling why he had to belittle Kerala when he knows very well the Narendra Modi government itself had launched Operation Dost to help Turkey. Kerala bashing is unwarranted.' 'Operation Dost' was initiated by the Modi government in 2023 to send aid to Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of a major earthquake that hit the two countries. India had sent relief material, rescue personnel and other supplies, while the Kerala government had received a sanction from the Centre to send `10 crore aid to Turkey. Referring to Tharoor's criticism of Kerala's aid to Turkey, CPI(M) leader and state Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Saturday said, 'It is not a misplaced generosity. At the time of a major disaster, we had to take a humane approach. The aid was handed over to Turkey through the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). It is wrong to club that gesture of 2023 with the border crisis of 2025. In 2023, the state supported Turkey on humanitarian grounds. Two years later, giving a wrong interpretation for that assistance to Turkey is not the right approach.' After the Wayanad landslides — to which Tharoor referred to say that the funds given to Turkey could have been used by the state itself — the Kerala government had sought assistance of `2,000 crore from the BJP-led Centre for rebuilding efforts there. Subsequently, the LDF government had blamed the Centre for not providing a special package for the Wayanad victims. The CPI(M) is currently undertaking a district-wide march in Wayanad to protest the Centre's alleged neglect of the district. With Turkey facing a backlash in India over its drones being used by Pakistan during the conflict between May 7 and 10, India asked Turkey last Thursday to be sensitive to its concerns.
Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Kerala Education Minister: ‘Some parts of NEP are good… (but) it is now a BJP programme. That is our main problem'
Alleging that the Centre owes Kerala over Rs 1,000 crore funds for various education-related schemes, Kerala General Education Minister and CPI(M) leader V Sivankutty has said that the LDF-led state government would also, like the DMK-ruled Tamil Nadu, move the court against the Centre in the matter. The Tamil Nadu government recently moved the Supreme Court, accusing the BJP-led Centre of not releasing its share under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, a key school education programme that ensures funds for implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. The Centre and the states contribute funds for this scheme in the 60:40 ratio. The Centre has not released the Samagra Shiksha funds to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal on the ground that these states have yet to implement the PM-SHRI scheme, which seeks to develop selected schools to showcase the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. In an interview with The Indian Express, Sivankutty speaks on a range of issues related to these rows, spelling out Kerala's stand on them. Excerpts: These are Samagra Shiksha funds. They (Centre) are saying that they are withholding Samagra Shiksha funds because the PM-SHRI scheme is not being implemented in the state. Kerala is supposed to receive money from the central government under the centrally sponsored scheme for general education. This amounts to a pending amount of Rs 188.58 crore for 2023-24, Rs 513.54 crore for 2024-25, and Rs 440.34 crore that has been approved for 2025-26. This adds up to a total of Rs 1,142.46 crore. Additionally, Rs 318 crore is expected as Kerala's share for the PM-SHRI scheme for the 2025-27 period. Totally, Kerala should receive Rs 1460.46 crore. Kerala has utilised the state share of Samagra Shiksha, which is 40% of the outlay, for essential expenditure like RTE entitlements, textbooks, and salaries. But there are some commitments, like funding for scholarships for children with special needs, uniforms, and school grants that are pending. Last year, the state government provided Rs 20 crore to pay salaries. We are hopeful of changing the Centre's mindset… a change in favour of Kerala. If the Centre sticks to its stand of denying funds that are the state's right, we will have to seek other means to safeguard the rights of children. Ours is a federal country… all children are ours. You cannot deprive funds to students from a few states. It is a politically-motivated move that is affecting children. I spoke to the Tamil Nadu Education Minister and their situation is similar. They have more funds…they have provided for this amount of around Rs 2000 crore in their budget. Since it is two different states, we will have to file (a suit) separately. We have spoken with senior advocates, and will take the matter to court. We are hopeful that the court, which protects the Constitution, will give protection in this matter. The RTE Act says that the Centre is to provide funds. For the PM-SHRI scheme, the Centre insists on an MoU that specifies implementation of the NEP, and the state is not in favour of this. The issue here is that earlier education was in the State List, and now it is in the Concurrent List. The BJP at the Centre has a political stand. It is based on this political stand that they have removed certain aspects of history from textbooks. Of the steps that the Centre is taking, these in the field of education are serious ones. There is this matter of following the NEP. On the NEP and implementing new aspects in education…there should have been meetings with Education Ministers of the states, academics, experts. Our textbooks in Kerala have been prepared after discussions. There are parts of the NEP, which we would have to implement even if they were not in the NEP, simply because of the current circumstances. Many students from Kerala are studying abroad, and they are going for four-year programmes. Considering this, we had to introduce four-year programmes. I will not blindly say that it (NEP) is a complete failure. There are some parts of it that are good, and some parts that we don't agree with. We have the right to express dissent when it comes to the parts that we don't agree with. It is this dissent that we are registering. We have incorporated the positive parts of the NEP in the Kerala Curriculum Framework 2023. What we don't agree with is aspects of curriculum preparation, and imposing decisions that the Centre takes on education for the entire country. This is now an attempt to forcibly impose the Centre's policies. The NEP is now a BJP-sponsored programme. That is our main problem. Languages need to be taught, whether it is English or Hindi. But you cannot force a language on anyone.
New Indian Express
05-05-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Parambikulam PHC in disarray without a single doctor for over four weeks
PALAKKAD: Even as the district administration is engaged in extravagant celebrations, marking four years of the LDF-led government's rule, the tribal communities of Parambikulam are suffering due to a lack of medical facilities. The only Public Health Centre (PHC) serving 11 tribal hamlets in the area has been operating without a single doctor for over four weeks. Due to this brazen neglect, even a fever could prove to be life-threatening for over 1,500 tribal residents, most of whom live at distance of 10-40 km from the defunct PHC. With every sanctioned post from doctors to nurses to pharmacists, the health centre is now a ghost structure, offering neither care nor hope. "It's an utter disgrace," fumed Kalpana Devi, president of the Muthalamada panchayat. "This hospital was supposed to be the medical backbone of these tribal settlements. Today, not even a single health worker is present. There are no junior public health nurses or health nurses, no clerk, no lady health inspector, and not even a pharmacist. It is a complete collapse." Thajudheen P, vice-president of the panchayat, painted a harrowing picture: "Pregnant women receive no check-ups. Children run fevers with no access to medicine. We have seen cases of intrauterine deaths and pre-term births go untreated. This is not just a failure -- it is criminal negligence."
