Neyyattinkara by-poll: Counting on June 15

Sunday, June 3, 2012: The vote counting for the Neyyattinkara by-poll will be held on June 15. More than 80 percent of the 164,856 electorate exercised their franchise in the byelection to the Neyyattinkara Assembly Constituency.

Official sources said that close to 80 per cent polling was reported with Athiyanoor Panchayat recorded the highest 82.4 per cent. Voting Percentage in Neyyattinkara Municipality was 78.2.

The constituency has total of 1,64,856 voters, in which 84,832 are women, 79,161 men and 863 service voters.

JPC on 2G to submit report in six months: Chacko

THRISSUR: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the 2G Spectrum scandal will prepare its report by December when its extended term expires, according to its chairman P C Chacko. "We will not seek another extension. More than 50 per cent of the work is over. We will complete the rest of the work by December this year and draw up the report," he said here.


Set up in March 2011 to probe flaws in the telecom policy from 1998 to 2009 and alleged corruption and irregularities resulting from it, the JPC's term was extended by Parliament till the end of the winter session.


Chacko, a senior Congress parliamentarian representing Thrissur in the Lok Sabha, said 50 witnesses had so far been examined by the panel.


The next meeting of the JPC, to be held shortly, would decide on the question of summoning present and former ministers to depose before it, Chacko added.

Pro-VS posters appear in T’puram

Sunday, June 03, 2012: The support for veteran CPM leader VS Achuthanandan from the party cadres is evidently increasing.
On Sunday, posters supporting the Opposition leader appeared in various parts of the district, with VS loyalists declaring him ‘true Communist’ through the posters.
Several posters declaring support for Achuthanandan appeared near Karikkakom area. Meanwhile in a major development which might trigger repercussions in the CPM, Achuthanandan yesterday made a surprise visit to the house of RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan, who was hacked to death by unidentified assailants last month.
Achuthanandan, who has been at loggerheads with the state CPI-M leadership, reached the slain Revolutionary Marxist Party leader’s house near here and spent about 45 minutes consoling Chandrasekharan’s mother, wife and son.
Thousands of RMP activists and supporters of Achuthanandan had lined the narrow lane leading to Chandrasekharan’s house to have a glimpse of the veteran leader.
The visit comes a day after he slammed the state party leadership and his bete noire Pinarayi Vijayan for finding fault with the media and the police team probing the murder.

Two killed in car-bike collision in Kottayam

Sunday, June 03, 2012: Two people were killed and another was critically injured in a road mishap that occurred near Changanassery in Kottayam district on Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as Vishnu (19) and Jayis (19). The injured Sanju(19) was shifted to Kottayam medical college.
Vishnu,Jayis and Sanju were going to Chananassery when their bike collided with a car.

Kayamkulam moral policing case: Look-out notice issued

 Sunday, June 03, 2012: The Kayamkulam police team have issued look-out notices against the two accused in a case relating to the incident in which a youth was brutally manhandled by ‘moral police’ on May 28.
The accused identified as Ashiq and Faizal are absconding soon after the incident came to light. The duo have been booked under several charges including murder attempt and assault.
The lookout notices with personal details of the accused were issued in all major airports to prevent their escape.
Kayamkulam Circle Inspector K.S Udayabhanu said the victim has been identified as Anuraj, a native of Puthupally in Kayamkulam and he was attacked by the ‘moral police’.

M M Mani rules out resignation

Sunday, June 03, 2012: CPM Idukki district secretary M M Mani today rubbished reports that he would resign his post inconnection with his controversial speech.
“No question of resigning. Such thought is not on my mind. I had not gone underground .I did not come out in public because I wanted to stay away from controversies’, he said.
Mani also said that the politburo has not dismissed him from the secretary’s post and the party has no issues with him.
Mani had made a controversial speech where he said that CPM had prepared a list of political rivals and they were killed accordingly. Police had booked a case against Mani and it was reported that he went into hiding.