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New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Collector, SP visit LWE-hit village in Malkangiri
MALKANGIRI: Malkangiri collector Ashish Iswar Patil and SP Vinod Patil visited the Left Wing Extremism-affected Tulsi village under Mathili block bordering Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. The duo along with Mathili BDO Pramod Behera and other officials inspected the progress of the ongoing road construction from Temurupally gram panchayat to Tulsi village. The collector instructed the Rural Division-I officials and the executing agency to ensure that the under-construction culvert on the road is completed before the monsoon so that the Border Security Force (BSF) deployed in the area doesn't face communication disruptions during the rainy season. Both the collector and SP engaged with the villagers on various local issues and assured them of continued government support. Ashish directed the Mathili block administration to ensure that benefits of all government schemes reach the village. Tulsi village is a strategically important location due to its proximity to Chhattisgarh. The presence of BSF there aims to prevent the possible influx of Maoists from the neighbouring state.
Indian Express
22-05-2025
- Indian Express
Hours after top Maoist leader's killing, IED blast claims life of another District Reserve Guard jawan in Chhattisgarh
A District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan from Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district was killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast on Wednesday, hours after security personnel gunned down 27 Maoists, including top leader Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju (70), in a major operation in the Abujhmad region. The IED blast took place at around 7 pm, when the forces were returning after completing the operation in the afternoon. However, it is not clear whether the deceased jawan, Ramesh Hemla, was carrying out searches or returning from the morning's encounter. According to officials, he accidentally stepped on an IED and died on the spot in the explosion. Earlier, during the operation, another DRG jawan was killed in an IED blast. That jawan, Khotluram Korram (38), was from Bhatbeda village in Orcha, Narayanpur district. The encounter on Wednesday morning was the result of a three-day-long operation carried out by DRG teams from four Chhattisgarh districts after getting intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists, including key leaders like Basavaraju, in Abujhmad — a remote and largely unmapped expanse of forestland spanning parts of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. The forces surrounded the Maoists between Indravati National Park in Bijapur district and Orcha in Narayanpur district. Since its inception, the DRG has been at the forefront of anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh, and several jawans from the unit have lost their lives fighting Left Wing Extremism. In January this year, four DRG personnel and four from Bastar Fighters — another force that specialises in fighting Maoists — were killed, along with a driver, when Maoists attacked their vehicle in the jungles of Kutru in Bijapur. With Wednesday's encounter, the number of Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh this year has touched 200.
Telegraph
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Why this is the beginning of a Rayner leadership bid
Two hours after The Telegraph broke the story of the Angela Rayner memo on Tuesday night, the following WhatsApp message arrived from a Left-wing Labour MP: 'Is this leak a sign that the battle for the succession is starting to break out?' It provides a neat insight into what that tribe is thinking now. Talk of a leadership coup is, to be clear, premature. There is no credible threat to Sir Keir Starmer's supremacy as top dog in the Labour Party and the Government. He is less than a year into his premiership, still able to point back to the biggest Labour majority since Sir Tony Blair. Plus, even if there was a sufficient degree of discord to act, the Labour rulebook lacks the 'no confidence' mechanism that was so ruthlessly used by the Tories to force a vote. But something subtler is happening. The Left of the party, forced onto the back foot by the brutally effective group of moderates around Sir Keir, is starting to tool up. There is talk of raising funds. There is a desire to organise better. And, yes, there are whispers about who will be the flag-carrier when the leadership is next up for grabs. Ms Rayner is the most obvious candidate. As Deputy Prime Minister, she is number two in the government hierarchy. As deputy Labour leader, she has proven electoral appeal with party members, who ultimately decide these contests. She is building up a list of policy achievements to get the Left clapping, including driving through a package of workers' rights and prioritising social housing in her push to build 1.5 million new homes. For months, figures around Ms Rayner have waved away any idea that she is angling for the top job. The leaked memo, it should be noted, appears to be a straight attempt to shift government policy rather than a leadership pitch. Those who know her well also acknowledged that the spotlight on her personal life – Ms Rayner had her living arrangements scrutinised by the press for weeks – had taken a toll. Some, though, think she would stand just to stop Wes Streeting, the media-savvy Health Secretary seen by some centrists as the natural successor to Sir Keir, from being elected. 'I don't think she wants it. The invasion of her private life was uncomfortable,' one ally told The Telegraph earlier this year. 'But if no one else emerges to take on Wes, then she would do it.' So who else could emerge? Louise Haigh, the red-haired former minister, has been hitting TV studios calling for a reversal of spending cuts since the local elections. The rapidity with which she was dropped by No10 in November when it emerged that she pleaded guilty to a fraud offence a decade ago angered Left-wingers, who saw in her an ally. While pinning Labour figures on the party's internal political spectrum can prove tricky, Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, is often labelled 'soft Left' and has a major Cabinet brief. Others much newer to the Commons – such as Sarah Owen, part of the 2019 intake, and Miatta Fahnbulleh, who is already a minister despite only arriving last year – are seen as rising stars among the grassroots. The Left is also making efforts to strengthen its immediate sources of power. Unite, until recent years the trade union with the biggest membership, has traditionally been a stalwart of the Left and a counter-weight of sorts to the Labour moderates. When Jeremy Corbyn was wobbling under intense pressure to quit as leader after the 2016 Brexit referendum, it was Len McCluskey, then the Unite general secretary, who propped him up. But Sharon Graham, Mr McCluskey's successor, has made a merit of largely staying out of Westminster, focusing on delivering for members rather than political meddling. That approach is now being challenged by Labour MPs, who want her to play a more active role in the political sphere – one, some hope, that will change government policy. A letter is being circulated among 88 Labour MPs backed by the union at the last general election, calling for a Unite parliamentary group to be set up. The Telegraph has seen a copy of the letter, one part of which reads: 'We believe that the Unite Parliamentary Group must be reconstituted as soon as possible and representatives must be nominated to the Trade Union Group of Labour MPs. 'Doing so will help keep Unite at the forefront of political campaigning within the trade union movement and ensure Unite MPs are informed of key campaigns to hold the Government to account on its pledges around industry and workers' rights.' The letter is designed to attract the attention of Ms Graham. The language is formal, but the message is clear – it is time for Unite to play a much more active role in Westminster. Moderates rule with iron fist Will these efforts come to much? It remains to be seen. The story of the past half decade within Labour is one of a ruthlessly efficient set of moderates taking control of the party. Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir's influential chief of staff, holds Corbynites in contempt. Many socialists hoping to be parliamentary candidates at the last election found their paths blocked. Those who were already MPs and were willing to kick up a fuss about the two-child benefit cap have been stripped of the whip. John McDonnell, who was Mr Corbyn's shadow chancellor, was among them. On people, on policy, on power, the centrists are still winning. They are calling the shots in No 10. The Left, marginalised after years of internal warfare, remains a weakened force. But, as the popularity of this young Labour Government continues to sink and Labour MPs feel emboldened to voice their concerns – something that will only be strengthened by Sir Keir's about-turn on winter fuel payments – a door is opening for a Left-wing comeback.
Telegraph
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
‘World's poorest president' José ‘Pepe' Mujica dies aged 89
Uruguay's former president José 'Pepe' Mujica, a guerrilla fighter and cult hero for Left-wingers worldwide, has died at the age of 89 after a lengthy fight against cancer. 'With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,' Uruguay's country's current president, Yamandú Orsi, said on X. Mr Mujica's journey from the Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group Tupamaros to mainstream politics, where his popularity stemmed from his trademark laconic philosophising, is unique in Latin American politics. Coinciding with the years of Uruguay's 1972-1985 dictatorship, Mr Mujica spent 13 years in prison, with more than half of this time confined in a tiny cell which he was allowed to leave only a couple of times a month to exercise. In that dark space without books or companionship, Mr Mujica said that he learnt to think. 'To keep myself sane, I began to remember things I'd read, things I'd thought when I was young. Later, I dedicated myself to changing the world, and I didn't read anything. I couldn't change the world, but what I'd read when I was young helped me,' he told the Spanish newspaper El País in an interview after his release. After entering politics as a senator in 2000, he would later become minister for livestock under Tabaré Vázquez, Uruguay's first Left-wing president. In November 2009 he won 53 per cent of the vote and was proclaimed president. During his single five-year term, as mandated by Uruguay's constitution, Mr Mujica legalised abortion, same-sex marriage and the use of marijuana. He won fame as the 'world's poorest president' for giving away much of his salary to charity, during his 2010-2015 presidency. He was known to attend official events in sandals and continued living on his small farm on the outskirts of Montevideo, where his prized possession was a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle. Even after he retired from politics in 2020, his chacra, or smallholding, continued to be a place of pilgrimage for Left-wing politicians, journalists and other admirers. Mr Mujica was a fierce critic of consumer culture and the environmental damage it has caused the planet. 'We have built self-exploiting societies. You have time to work but not to live,' he once said. In May 2024, he was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus, which later spread to his liver. He is survived by his wife Lucia Topolansky, whom he met when they were both guerrilla fighters. The couple did not have children.
Irish Independent
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
The Left Wing: Leinster fail again, the Jordie Barrett blunder and Sam Prendergast's defence
A result so shocking, Will had to cancel (some of) his holiday to break it down. On this week's Left Wing, Cian Tracey, Luke Fitzgerald and Will Slattery convene for yet another review of a Leinster collapse in Europe - and between Sam Prendergast's defence, the South African mindset and Leo Cullen's future, there is much to discuss. Apple Podcasts
