News Analysis India

Tag: Kerala

  • Taliban’s growing sway in Afghanistan could spike drug flow into India

    Express News Service
    KOCHI: Repercussions of the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s increasing influence there are being felt across the world, even in Kerala. Indian agencies, especially those involved in anti-narcotics operations, are on alert as they fear that the Taliban’s growth in Afghanistan would lead to a spurt in smuggling of drugs into India and Kerala in the coming months.Sources in the customs department, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said the recent spike in seizures of highly-processed drugs like heroin and cocaine across India, including in Kerala, is as an indicator of the Taliban growing influence in Afghanistan.

    They said in all the seizures, especially of heroin from fishing boats and at airports in Kerala, it was found that Afghanistan was origin point of the drugs. “Despite the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan for two decades, Taliban ensured that the cultivation of poppy (opium) stayed intact as it is its chief funding source. Afghanistan is the prime cultivator of illegal poppy in the world even though it has been a war zone for 20 years. While US troops destroyed several poppy fields when they captured the land, its illegal cultivation could not be controlled as this was being done in remote areas fully controlled by terrorist groups,” said an NCB official.

    The agencies said the cultivation of poppy will rise in Afghanistan now. India is one of the first countries where the smuggled drugs land after they are processed in Afghanistan and Pakistan. To deal with drugs trafficking, the agencies here have enhanced their intelligence networks. “Earlier, porous borders in India’s north-western front which lies close to Pakistan was the drug smuggling route. Since surveillance was increased to prevent the sneaking in of drugs, smugglers are trying sea and air routes,” said the NCB official. As per a UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, poppy was cultivated in 2.24 lakh hectares of land in Afghanistan in 2020 compared to 1.63 lakh hectares in 2019. The potential production capacity of poppy in Afghanistan is around 6,300 tonnes per year. 

    “There will be a spurt in narco-terrorism once Taliban gains control of Afghanistan following the complete pullout of foreign troops in the next few months. The situation is alarming as India’s internal security is likely to face challenges,” said G Shreekumar Menon, former DG, National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics (NACEN). 

    “Drugs trade contributes a majority to Taliban’s funding. If they gain power after the withdrawal of troops, there will be attempts to procure sophisticated weapons for which enormous funds will be required. Poppy cultivation will be hiked which ultimately will be sourced to countries like India. Funds from it will also be used for terrorists activities in Kashmir,” he said. Menon said the sea route was most vulnerable to drugs trafficking and even drones could be used for cross-country movement of drugs. 

    “It is impossible for agencies to check each and every fishing vessel that ventures into the sea daily. Our country has a vast coastline. And since drones are being used for terrorist activities, attempts to use them for drug trafficking cannot be ruled out. Security activities should be on alert following the developments in Afghanistan,” he said.

    A former NCB zonal director said considering the number of fishing vessels in Kerala, security agencies should be on high alert. “The shipping route close to Kerala’s coastline has started to witness an increase in drugs trafficking. It is high time agencies deter smugglers from opening a gateway to bring drugs into the country. Fishing vessels that venture close to the coastlines of Iran and Pakistan should be checked as drugs are often loaded from there,” he said.

  • Bakrid Covid relaxation: SC warns Kerala of action if virus spreads

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI/T’PURAM: The Supreme Court on Tuesday slammed the state government for giving relaxations in lockdown curbs for three days in view of Bakrid festival. The court did not cancel the government order as Tuesday was the final day of relaxations.

    But it warned the state government of stern action if the easing of restrictions leads to further spread of Covid.Describing the relaxations granted for Bakrid in areas with a high test positivity rate ‘wholly uncalled for’, a division bench comprising Justice R F Nariman and B R Gavai remarked that giving in to pressure from traders disclosed a ‘sorry state of affairs’.

    Recalling the court’s earlier judgments, the bench directed the state government to heed to the Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution.The bench was hearing a petition filed by Delhi-based Keralite P K D Nambiar questioning the Bakrid relaxations in the state. 

    Nambiar pointed out the SC’ directive to Uttar Pradesh government regarding the Kanwar Yatra festival and pleaded that a similar directive should be issued for Kerala where the TPR was more than three times that in UP.  

    ‘If untoward spread of Covid takes place, court will take action’

    The apex court referred to a paragraph in the affidavit filed by Chief Secretary V P Joy on behalf of the state government and said it disclosed the state had given in to associations of traders, which made a representation that they had stocked up goods for the festival season. “What is extremely alarming is the fact that in Category D, where infection rates are the highest, a full day of relaxation has been granted,” the court observed. “We may also indicate that if, as a result of this, any untoward spread of Covid takes place, any member of the public may approach the court after which it will take action accordingly,” said the court which also congratulated the petitioner.

    As directed by the court, the state government filed an affidavit on Monday night, saying that the curbs and resultant economic slowdown had badly affected people’s lives.“The organisation of traders started to agitate against the stringent curbs implemented in local self-government institutions and declared they would open shops all over the state flouting regulations,” the affidavit said, adding that Opposition parties had also demanded more relaxations to give some respite to the traders and to allow some economic activities in the state.

    “The CM held discussion with the organisations and heard their demands on July 16. The traders assured that the opening of shops will be strictly following Covid protocol and are ready to follow any additional regulations ordered by the state,” it said.

    As per a July 17 GO, textiles, footwear shops, jewellery, fancy stores, shops selling home appliances and electronic items, all types of repairing shops and shops selling essential items shall be allowed to open from July 18 to 20 from 7am to 8pm in category A, B and C areas, in view of Bakrid that will be celebrated on July 21.

    In D category areas (where TPR is higher than 15%), these shops can function only on July 19, the GO said. In the affidavit, Joy said the state is vigorously vaccinating people and is expected to inoculate at least 60% of its population within two or three months. The state said it has vaccinated 45% of its 18+ population with at least one dose and 18% have been vaccinated with two doses.

    BLOOPER IN GO COSTS GOVT DEARLYThe setback the state suffered in the Supreme Court, with regard to providing lockdown restrictions for Bakrid, could have been avoided had the senior officials been more vigilant in drafting the governm-ent order announcing relaxations, reports B Sreejan.  

    Lockdown curbs to continueAfter facing criticism from Supreme Court, the state on Tuesday decided not to extend the relaxation further. It also decided to continue the restrictions based on test positivity rate in the local bodies for one more week. The weekend lockdowns will also continue. 

  • Cyclone ‘Tauktae’: NDRF doubles number of teams mobilised for rescue, relief measures to 100

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The National Disaster Response Force has increased from 53 to 100 the number of teams earmarked to undertake relief and rescue measures in the wake of impending Cyclone Tauktae, a senior officer said on Saturday.

    The force’s Director General, S N Pradhan, said in a tweet that these teams are being mobilised for deployment in the coastal regions of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra.

    On Friday, he had said that 53 teams are being committed for the cyclonic storm that is developing in the Arabian sea.

    The deployment of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams has been “upped” as per new inputs provided by the India Meteorological Department, Pradhan said.

    Out of the 100 teams, the director general said 42 are being pre-deployed or stationed on the ground in six states while 26 are on stand-by.

    #CycloneTauktae UPDATE15/5/21- @NDRFHQPer new IMD inputs deployment upped100 NDRF tms committed42 tms pre-depl26 tms stndby32 tms for bk-up India-wideAirlifted if reqdKerala,Ktka,TN,Guj,Maha,Goa@PMOIndia @HMOIndia @PIBHomeAffairs @BhallaAjay26 @ANI pic.twitter.com/fvaMGHGfRS
    — ѕαtчα prαdhαnसत्य नारायण प्रधान ସତ୍ଯପ୍ରଧାନ-DG NDRF (@satyaprad1) May 15, 2021

    Thirty-two teams are on backup and can be airlifted upon requirement, Pradhan said.

    The NDRF chief also said that members of these teams have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and are equipped with the required tools.

    A single NDRF team comprises 35-40 personnel and they are armed with tree and pole cutters, boats, basic medical aid and other relief and rescue equipment.

    The India Meteorological Department had said on Friday that the depression in the Arabian Sea is likely to intensify into a “very severe cyclonic storm” on May 17 and cross the Gujarat coast a day later.

    The weather condition has intensified into a deep depression.

    It is very likely to further intensify into cyclonic storm ‘Tauktae’ by Saturday morning and very likely to intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm by Saturday night, it had said.

  • First Revenue Minister of Kerala, KR Gouri Amma passes away

    The first Revenue Minister of Kerala and JSS leader KR Gouri Amma passed away on Tuesday at a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram where she was admitted due to age-related ailments. She was 102.

    KR Gouri had recently stepped down from the state general secretary post of the Janadhipathya Samrakshana Samithi (JSS). She held the post since the formation of the party in 1994.

    The party was formed after Gouri was expelled from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 1994. She served as Revenue Minister in the first EMS Namboodiripad government and introduced the revolutionary Land Reforms Bill in 1957.

    She also was a minister in the communist-led ministries in Kerala in 1957, 1967, 1980 and 1987. She also became Agriculture minister in the Congress-led government from 2001 to 2006.

    She also played a key role in drafting and presenting the Women’s Commission Bill in 1987. One of the longest serving politicians in Kerala politics, Gouri entered politics at a young age and during a time when women hardly did so.

    Born in born in Cherthala in the Alappuzha district, she actively participated in trade union and peasant movements and was jailed on a number of occasions. She was elected to the Travancore Council of Legislative Assembly in 1952 and 1954 with an overwhelming majority.

    After forming JSS, she joined the United Democratic Front (UDF) and was minister in AK Antony and Oommen Chandy cabinet. Later, she had left the UDF.

  • Here is a look at coronavirus-induced restrictions imposed by states, UTs

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: With the fierce second COVID wave now tightening its grip over southern states, Kerala came under complete lockdown from Saturday morning, while Tamil Nadu too clamped a two-week “total” shut down starting May 10.

    Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had on Friday announced lockdown-like restrictions with more stringent curbs from May 10 to May 24 in the state.

    The Kerala government decided to impose a nine-day complete shutdpwn as the weekend restrictions and curbs imposed earlier failed to create any desired impact in terms of the daily caseload of the infected persons.

    Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state was facing more challenges in the second wave.

    Kerala recorded 41,971 fresh cases on Saturday, pushing the COVID-19 tally to 18,66,827, while the toll mounted to 5,746 with 64 more deaths.

    Active cases now stood at 4.17 lakh, the state government said.

    Only essential services are exempted and people have been strictly warned against coming out in public places or travelling unnecessarily, with police intensifying patrolling.

    Major temples are closed.

    All borders are under the strict surveillance of the police and only freight vehicles and those having permission from the authorities concerned are permitted through check-posts, state police added.

    Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said that a total lockdown had to be clamped in the backdrop of a sharp increase in daily new infections of about 25,000 which was likely to go up.

    “The total lockdown will be enforced from 4 AM on May 10 to 4 AM on May 24 to further intensify the efforts to curb the spread of the disease,” he said.

    Puducherry is already under lockdown till May 10. Andhra Pradesh had announced a partial lockdown with curfew from 12 noon to 6 AM from May 6 for two weeks.

    The state had earlier imposed a night curfew.

    Telangana has extended night curfew till May 15. Twelve states accounted for 80.68 percent of India’s over 37.23 lakh active coronavirus cases, according to official data.

    Maharashtra has the maximum number of active cases at 6.57 lakh, followed by Karnataka 5,36,661, Kerala 4,02,997, Uttar Pradesh 2,54,118, and Rajasthan 1,99,147 cases.

    The other states having large active cases are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Haryana and Bihar.

    Ten states accounted for 70.77 per cent of the new cases in the last 24 hours, out of which Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 54,022, followed by Karnataka 48,781 and Kerala 38,460 new cases.

    Among the remaining seven states and union territories with high daily new cases are Uttar Pradesh (27,763), Tamil Nadu (26,465) and Delhi (19,832).

    A record 4,187 COVID-19 fatalities in a day took India’s death toll to 2,38,270, while 4,01,078 new infections were reported during the period, pushing the tally of cases to 2,18,92,676, according to Union Health Ministry data on Saturday morning.

    The 4,187 new fatalities include 898 from Maharashtra, 592 from Karnataka, 372 from Uttar Pradesh, 341 from Delhi, 208 from Chhattisgarh and 197 from Tamil Nadu.

    Many of the states have already announced lockdown or similar curbs like corona curfew.

    In the Northeast, Mizoram government has announced seven-day complete lockdown from May 10 and Sikkim has imposed lockdown-like restrictions till May 16.

    Here is a look at coronavirus-induced restrictions imposed by states and union territories.

    *Delhi: The national capital has been under lockdown since April 19 and it was last extended till May 10.

    *Haryana is under a seven-day long lockdown from May 3. Earlier, weekend curfew was enforced in nine districts.

    *Bihar on May 4 imposed a lockdown till May 15.

    *Uttar Pradesh has extended the duration of the weekend lockdown till 7 AM on May 10.

    *Odisha is under a 14-day lockdown from May 5 till May 19.

    *Rajasthan has decided to implement a strict lockdown in the state from May 10 to 24 though curbs continue to be in place since last month.

    *Jharkhand had extended the lockdown-like restrictions till May 13. The restrictions were first imposed on April 22 as “Health Safety Week”.

    *Chhattisgarh has announced weekend lockdown while earlier allowing district collectors to extend local lockdowns till May 15.

    *Punjab has imposed extensive curbs, in addition to measures like a weekend lockdown and night curfew till May 15.

    *Chandigarh administration has also imposed weekend lockdowns.

    *Madhya Pradesh has imposed ‘Janta curfew’ till May 15 with only essential services allowed.

    *Gujarat has imposed night curfew (from 8 PM to 6 AM) and other day-time restrictions in 36 cities till May 12.

    *Maharashtra had imposed lockdown-like curbs on April 5 coupled with prohibitory orders and restrictions on the movement of people.

    The curbs were later extended till May 15. Local lockdowns in district like Latur and Solapur have been imposed, and curbs tightened in Amravati, Akola and Yavatmal.

    *Goa government to impose a curfew from May 9 to May 24.

    It lifted a four-day lockdown on Monday, except in tourist hotspots like Calangute and Candolim in North Goa, though restrictions were continuing.

    *West Bengal has since last week imposed extensive curbs including ban on all kinds of gatherings.

    *Assam advanced the night curfew to 6 PM from the current 8 PM with restrictions imposed on the movement of people at public places from Wednesday.

    Night curfew was imposed on April 27 till May seven.

    *Nagaland has imposed partial lockdown with stricter rules from April 30 to May 14.

    *Mizoram government has announced seven-day complete lockdown from 4 AM of May 10 to 4 AM of May 17.

    *Arunachal Pradesh has imposed night curfew — from 6.30 pm to 5 am — for the entire month starting Saturday.

    *Manipur government has imposed curfew in seven districts from May 8 till May 17.

    *Sikkim imposed lockdown-like restrictions till May 16.

    *Jammu and Kashmir administration has extended the lockdown in four districts of Srinagar, Baramulla, Budgam and Jammu till May 10, while Samba too will see similar restrictions.

    Night curfew continues in all municipal/urban local body limits of all 20 districts.

    *Uttarakhand has reimposed several restrictions including ight curfew. Curfew, imposed in April-end, has been extended in three heavy caseload districts of Dehradun. Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar in Uttarakhand till May 10

    *Himachal Pradesh has imposed lockdown or “corona curfew” in the state from May 7 to May 16.

    *Puducherry has extended the night curfew to a lockdown from May 10 to May 24. 

    *Kerala: Lockdown from May 8 to May 16.

    *Tamil Nadu: Lockdown from May 10 to May 24.

  • Home Minister Amit Shah describes Rahul Gandhi as ‘tourist politician’ at poll rally in Kerala’s Wayanad

    By PTI
    MEENANGADI: Taking a dig at the Congress, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said Rahul Gandhi is a “tourist politician” who had represented Amethi for 15 years in Parliament, before shifting to Wayanad in Kerala.

    He alleged for the Congress and the Gandhi family, people are just a vote bank and government a money bank.

    Shah also ridiculed the left and Congress for their poll pact in West Bengal and said the Communists and Congress need to merge and form a new party which can be called ‘Comrade Congress Party”.

    Launching his attack on Gandhi who was in neighbouring Kozhikode district for campaigning earlier in the day, Shah said: “This Wayanad is a also the constituency of Rahul baba. He was representing Amethi for 15 years. Nothing changed there. Now he has come here.”

    “I have never seen a tourist politician like Rahul baba. Sometimes he will be in Amethi, sometimes in Wayanad. He is here as a tourist and don’t expect any development from his side,” the union minister said.

    The UPA government was ruling for ten years.

    The people voted them to power for development.

    Instead they engaged in corruption and scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore, Shah alleged, adding “for the Congress and the Gandhi family, people are just a vote bank and government is a money bank.”

    Shah, who arrived here from neighbouring Tamil Nadu, was addressing party workers at Meenangadi in Wayanad campaigning for the BJP-NDA candidate C K Janu, a tribal leader who is contesting from Sultan Bathery.

    If BJP candidates are voted, Wayanad will be made the most developed district in the country, he said.

    Attacking the LDF and UDF, Shah said development has taken a back seat in Kerala since the last two decades.

    The state was once a favourite destination of tourists in the country, besides also being the most literate.

    But the LDF-UDF fronts, which have been ruling the state alternatively for several years, have stalled the state’s development and was engaged in corruption, appeasement politics and political violence, the BJP leader alleged.

    “The UDF-LDF indulge in appeasement politics while the BJP-NDA is for development politics,” he said.

    Attacking the Communists and the Congress, he said “they are confused.”

    He pointed out that in Kerala, they were rivals and fight against each other, while in West Bengal they are allies and embrace each other.

    “I would like to ask the Congress and Communists if you are doing politics of ideology or politics of power. Congress and Communists begin with the letter ‘C’ and confusion also begins with the C.”

    “They are confused about their policies, leadership and ideology and this will not help the state in any manner. They need to merge and form a new party which can be called ‘Comrade Congress Party,” Shah said, lacing his speech with sarcasm.

    The CPI(M) has links with the SDPI (Social Democratic Party of India), the political arm of the Popular Front of India (PFI), while the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League are allies, the Union minister said as he turned the heat on the LDF over the gold, dollar smuggling cases and the UDF in the Solar scam.

    The gold smuggling case relates to the seizure of around 30 kg of gold worth Rs 14.82 crore from a diplomatic baggage at the Thiruvananthapuram airport in July last year and the dollar scam pertains to alleged smuggling of USD 1,90,000 (equivalent to Rs 1.30 crore) by a former finance head of the UAE consulate.

    The Solar scandal, which hit the previous UDF government, relates to a couple cheating people of crores of rupees by promising to instal solar panels and offering franchise and jobs.

    Shah alleged that under the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, gold smuggling took place and if the Congress-UDF comes to power, they will appoint those involved in the solar scam as chief minister.

    He also repeated his questions with regard to the gold smuggling case to Vijayan and sought answers from him before the April 6 assembly polls.

    On the Sabarimala issue, the union minister said when the state witnessed violent protests after the left government decided to implement the Supeme Court verdict, lathis were used against Ayyappa pilgrims, including women, mothers, children and the Congress remained silent.

    The BJP-NDA wants the temple administration to be handed over to devotees,Shah said.

    He claimed the communists were engaged in violent politics and have killed thousands of RSS workers.

    “The BJP cannot be threatened and will ensure that the Lotus blooms in the state,” Shah said.

    The Union Home Minister later held a road show at Kozhikode for party candidate M T Ramesh.

  • Maharashtra, Kerala among six states accounting for over 80 per cent fresh COVID cases

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat are reporting a surge in daily coronavirus cases, accounting for 80.63 per cent of the new COVID-19 infections, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday.

    The three states of Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab also account for 74.32 per cent the of total active cases in the country which has increased to 3.95 lakh and comprises 3.35 per cent of the total infections.

    A total of 53,476 new cases have been reported in a span of 24 hours, the highest single day rise so far this year.

    Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 31,855 (59.57 per cent).

    It is followed by Punjab with 2,613 while Kerala reported 2,456 new cases, the ministry said.

    Ten states including Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases, it highlighted.

    ALSO READ | Second Coronavirus wave to peak in April, may last up to 100 days: SBI report

    India’s total COVID-19 active caseload has increased to 3,95,192.

     A net rise of 26,735 cases is recorded from the total active caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    “Three states, Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab, account for 74.32 per cent the of total active cases in the country.

    Maharashtra alone accounts for 62.91 per cent of the total active cases in the country,” the ministry underlined.

    The ministry also said that over 5.31 crore vaccine doses have been administered through 8,61,292 sessions.

    These include 79,80,849 HCWs (1st dose), 50,61,790 HCWs (2nd dose), 84,78,478 FLWs (1st dose) and 3 2,37,381 FLWs (2nd Dose), 51,31,949 beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (1st Dose) and 2,32,55,262 beneficiaries aged more than 60 years.

    As on day-68 of the vaccination drive (March 24), more than 23 lakh (23,03,305) vaccine doses were given.

    Out of which, 21,13,323 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 38,243 sessions for 1st dose and 1,89,982 HCWs and FLWs received the 2nd dose of vaccine.

    The ministry said that 60 per cent of the cumulative doses (5,31,45,709) have been given in eight states –Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

    India’s cumulative recoveries stand at 1,12,31,650 with 26,490 recoveries being registered in a span of 24 hours.

    The gap between total recovered cases and the active cases stands at 10,836,458 as on date, the ministry stated.

    Also, 251 deaths were reported in a span of 24 hours. Six states account for 78.49 per cent of the daily deaths.

    Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (95).

    Punjab follows with 39 daily deaths and Chhattisgarh reported 29 deaths in a span of 24 hours.

    Fourteen states and UTs have not reported any COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours.

    These are Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Ladakh (UT), Sikkim, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

  • Election to three Rajya Sabha seats from Kerala on April 12

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Election to three Rajya Sabha seats from Kerala falling vacant next month will be held on April 12, the Election Commission said on Wednesday.

    Abdul Wahab of the IUML, K K Ragesh of the CPI-M and Vayalar Ravi of the Congress are retiring on April 21, the Commission said.

    The notification for the biennial elections will be issued on March 24.

    As per practice, votes will counted in the evening of April 12 after conclusion of polling at 4 pm.

    Members of legislative assembly elect Rajya Sabha members.

    The MLAs of the outgoing assembly, in which the ruling LDF has a majority, will elect the three new members.

    Kerala assembly elections will be held on April 6 and counting will take place on May 2.

  • BJP likely to release first list of candidates for upcoming Assembly polls in first week of March

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Bhartiya Janta Party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) is likely to meet in the first week of March to decide the candidates’ list for the upcoming assembly polls in four states and one Union Territory.

    According to sources, BJP is likely to announce its first list for the state assembly election in the first week of March after the CEC’s meeting. The meeting is likely to take place on March 4.

    BJP’s CEC consists of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national party president Jagat Prakash Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and others.

    The election for the states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry were announced last Friday by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

    The terms of legislative assemblies of four states Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and West Bengal are coming to an end in May and June. In Puducherry, President’s rule has been imposed and the assembly is kept under suspended animation after the former Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasamy-led Congress government resigned earlier this week ahead of a vote of confidence in the parliament.

    Assam has 126 Members in its Legislative Assembly, West Bengal has 294, Tamil Nadu has 234, Kerala has 140 and Puducherry has 33 seats (30 elected and 3 nominated by Centre).

    As per the schedule, West Bengal State Assembly elections will be in eight-phases, while Assam will be voting in three phases.Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will be held in a single phase on April 6. Counting of votes for all four states and one Union Territory will take place on May 2.

  • This is a government of non-performance: Nadda says BJP giving ‘special focus’ to Kerala

    By PTI
    THRISSUR: The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were giving “special focus” and attention to poll-bound Kerala and over Rs 19,000 crore has been kept apart for the state to ease its revenue deficit, party president J P Nadda said on Thursday.

    “Prime Minister has special attention and focus for Kerala and more than Rs 19,000 crore has been kept apart to reduce the state’s revenue deficit,” he said at a massive rally of party workers at the Thekkinkadu Maidan here this evening.

    Continuing his attack against the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and the opposition UDF spearheaded by the Congress, the BJP president alleged rampant corruption was going on and the two fronts had brought a bad name to the state.

    Attacking the LDF, he said, “This is a government of non-performance.”

    He listed various projects sanctioned by the Centre for the state including the Mumbai-Kanyakumarieconomic corridor for which Rs 50,000 crore has been set apart.

    During the lockdown, Prime Minister Modi had transferred Rs 500 each for three months to 20 crore women across the country in their Jan Dhan accounts and 47 lakh peoplewere benefited in the state.

    Eight crore gas connections were given to the women here, he said.

    Nadda, who is on a two-day visit to Kerala ahead of the assembly polls, addressed party office bearers from the 140 assembly constituencies earlier in the day.

    The BJP chief said he had come to the same venue in 2016 during the assembly polls and claimed there was a “sea change” in the enthusiasm of the people now.

    Former DGP Jacob Thomas, who recently joined the BJP, was welcomed by Nadda on the stage by wrapping a shawl around him.