CPIM-led LDF bags 16 of 30 seats in civic bypolls; BJP fails to win any seat
Thiruvananthapuram: Nothwithstanding the row over the Sabarimala women entry issue, the ruling CPI-M-led LDF in Kerala Friday bagged 16 out of the 30 seats in the bypolls conducted for various local bodies across the state.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front got 12 seats while the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) and a Congress rebel retained the seats at Onchiyam in Kozhikode and Alappuzha district respectively.
The BJP, which spearheaded the Sabarimala protests and had high hopes, came a cropper, failing to win any seat.
In a setback to the ruling CPI(M), the RMP, to which slain leader T P Chandrasekharan belonged, retained the Onchiyam Panchayat seat. The CPI(M) had been saying the RMP had lost its relevance and was expecting to win this seat.
RMP's P Sreejith won the fifth ward of Onchiyam panchayat with a majority of 308 votes and retained power in the Panchayat. The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of RMP member A K Gopinath.
The election assumed importance as RMP was formed by Chandrasekharan, who was a former fellow-traveller of the CPI(M). Chandrasekharan was killed in May 2012, three years after he parted ways with the CPI(M) and founded the RMP.
In the bypolls, UDF lost five of its sitting seats in which four were won by the LDF and one by a Congress rebel.
However, UDF won the five seats which were the sitting seats of ruling LDF. In the November 2018 bypolls, the LDF had won 21 out of the 39 seats. The UDF had secured 12 seats while BJP two.
The Supreme Court had on September 28 last year allowed women of all age groups to enter the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple, where earlier women in the menstruating age of 10-50 years were barred from offering prayers.
With the LDF government making it clear that it was constitutionally bound to implement the top court verdict, the BJP and right wing outfits and a section of devotees had launched massive and violent protests on the issue.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
