News and Views

Kerala Assembly on Monday passed a motion calling upon the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India to withdraw from the move for merger of Stat Bank of Travancore (SBT) with State Bank of India (SBI).

All members of the House except BJP member O. Rajagopal supported the resolution.

The substantive motion, adopted at the end of a discussion raised through a motion moved by Chief Minister Pinarai Vijayan, said that the merge would harm the economic growth of the State.  

Finance Minister T. M. Thomas Isaac introduced the Finance Bill in the Assembly on Monday to give effect to the financial proposals of the government in the revised Budget for the current financial year.

These include sales tax on coconut oil, green tax on vehicles older than 15 years and fat tax on certain cooked items of branded restaurants, besides hike in stamp duty for registration of land deals.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Assembly on Monday passed a resolution for government takeover of four aided schools which were closed recently after obtaining favourable verdicts from High Court of Kerala and the Supreme Court.

The schools proposed to be taken over are AUP School, Malapparamba, Kozhikode; AUP School , Palatu, Kozhikode; AM LP School, Mangattumudi, Malappuram and PM LP School, Kiraloor, Thrisssur.

UDF members staged a walk-out in the Assembly on Monday over police apathy in the investigation of the murder of Youth League worker K. P. Nasarudeen at Kuttiyadi in Vadakara taluk and extremist activities in the area.

Leading the walk-out, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala said that the murder was planned. The RSS and SDPI were leading extremist activities in the State. However, the police were adopting a soft approach.

New Delhi: An all-party delegation may meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up State’s demands with the Central government.

This was discussed at a conference of the members of Parliament from Kerala held in New Delhi, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarai Vijayan. However, the Chief Minister is yet to get an appointment with the Prime Minister.