
VS Achuthanandan, Former Chief Minister Of Kerala, Dies At 101
Veteran CPM leader and former Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan died on Monday, after a long hospitalization. The 101-year-old was admitted to a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on June 23 after he suffered a suspected cardiac arrest at home. He had been in the intensive care unit on ventilator support.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPM state secretary MV Govindan have rushed to the hospital to meet the family and speak to the attending doctors. A steady stream of political leaders are already making a beeline for the hospital to pay their respects.
The veteran leader had been staying alternately with his son or daughter in Thiruvananthapuram since he quit as the Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Committee in January 2021.
A towering figure in Kerala's political landscape, Achutanandan's populist stance and uncompromising image won him admiration across party lines.
Achuthanandan had been the Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2006, when he had spearheaded the attack on the UDF government led by AK Antony. In 2006, he had led the CPM-led Left Democratic Front to victory and served as Chief Minister from 2006 to 2011.
In 2011, he crafted the LDF campaign and leading from the front, came close to securing a second term, but the Oommen Chandy-led UDF managed a narrow win, securing 72 seats in the 140-member Assembly.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
Dismantling Electoral Framework: Tamil Nadu CM Stalin Warns Centre Over Voter List Row
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader M.K. Stalin issued a sharp warning to the Centre over the ongoing controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Amid rising opposition protests and heated exchanges in Parliament, Stalin accused the BJP-led government of attempting to 'delete' voices it cannot defeat through democratic means. Addressing the media in Chennai, Stalin stated, 'If you cannot defeat us, you seek to delete us. That's the strategy being played out through this targeted voter revision.' He said the Centre's move to selectively revise electoral rolls in opposition-ruled or politically sensitive regions was nothing short of 'electoral cleansing,' and warned it posed a direct threat to democracy. The remarks come as Opposition leaders, led by Rahul Gandhi, continue their protests in the Parliament complex, accusing the Centre of orchestrating the SIR exercise to manipulate upcoming elections. Placards were torn and dumped in bins, symbolically rejecting the controversial revision. The Special Intensive Revision (#SIR) is being misused to quietly erase voters from disadvantaged and dissenting communities, tilting the balance in favour of the BJP. This is not about reform. It is about engineering outcomes. What happened in Bihar says it all: the Delhi… — (@mkstalin) July 25, 2025 Stalin's statement has added further momentum to the Opposition's united stance on the issue. He said the attempt to revise voter rolls without state coordination raises serious questions about the intention behind the move. 'If Bihar today, then which state tomorrow? This is not just about one region. This is about dismantling the electoral framework that safeguards our democracy,' Stalin said. He also called on other non-BJP state governments to remain vigilant and demand transparency from the Election Commission of India. There has been no formal response from the Centre to Stalin's accusations. However, BJP leaders maintain that the SIR is a routine electoral update aimed at cleaning up outdated rolls. Opposition parties reject this claim, saying the unilateral nature of the move suggests political motives.
&w=3840&q=100)

First Post
2 hours ago
- First Post
US CENTCOM confirms killing of senior Islamic State leader in Syria's Aleppo
The US military announced the killing of senior Islamic State commander Dhiya Zawba Muslih al-Hardan and his two sons in a rare raid in northwest Syria's Aleppo region. The operation, involving Kurdish and Syrian forces, marks a major blow to the terror group's leadership. read more The US military said Friday that a senior leader in the militant group Islamic State was killed in a raid carried out by US-led forces in northwest Syria. In a statement, the US Central Command announced that it had killed IS commander Dhiya Zawba Muslih al-Hardan and his two adult sons, who were also members of the group, in a raid in the Aleppo region of Syria's town of al-Bab early Friday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Three women and three children at the location were unharmed, but the men 'posed a threat to US and Coalition Forces, as well as the new Syrian Government,' the statement stated. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said the raid was carried out through an airdrop of forces, the first of its kind to be carried out by the US-led coalition against IS this year, and that ground forces from both the Syrian government's General Security forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces participated. The observatory said the operation was 'preceded by a tight security cordon around the targeted site, a heavy deployment of forces on the ground, and the presence of coalition helicopters in the airspace of the area.' There was no statement from either the government in Damascus or the SDF about the operation. Washington has developed increasingly close ties with the new Syrian government in Damascus since the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive last year, and has been pushing for a merger of forces between the new Syrian army and the Kurdish-led SDF, which controls much of the country's northeast. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, progress between the two sides in agreeing on the details of the merger has been slow and could be further complicated by the recent outbreak of sectarian violence in the southern province of Sweida, in which government forces joined Sunni Muslim Bedouin clans in fighting against armed factions from the Druze religious minority. Some government forces allegedly executed Druze civilians and burned and looted their houses. The violence has increased the wariness of other minority groups — including the Kurds — toward Damascus.


New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Congress seeks to counter BJP's 'anti-Hindu' narrative in first-ever Muzrai temple meeting in Karnataka
MANGALURU: In a move to counter the BJP's growing narrative that the Congress-led government in Karnataka is anti-Hindu, DK district in-charge and minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, on July 25, convened the State's first-ever meeting of Muzrai temple management committees at Kudmul Ranga Rao Town Hall in Mangaluru. The meeting served as a platform for Congress leaders to reaffirm the party's commitment to the development of Hindu temples and ensure religious harmony. 'Misinformation is being systematically spread that funds from Hindu temples are being used for the development of mosques and churches,' Rao said. He added: 'This is not only false, but even sections of the national media have unfortunately echoed these baseless claims.' He highlighted the historical and financial support extended by the Congress government to temples, pointing out that it was under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's leadership that the tasdik grant — financial aid given to temples — was increased multiple times: from Rs 24,000 to Rs 36,000, then to Rs 48,000, and most recently to Rs 72,000. He also noted that the tasdik system itself was introduced by his father, former Chief Minister R Gundu Rao, as compensation following the abolition of the Inam land grants.