Senior CPI-M leader Jayarajan to return as Minister
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 10 : The CPI-M state secretariat on Friday gave the nod for the re-induction of CPI-M leader E.P. Jayarajan into the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet, according to party state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
The swearing-in of Jayarajan, a central committee member of the party, would take place in the state capital on Tuesday.
He will get back the industries portfolio, which he held when he quit on October 14, 2016, just four months after becoming a minister, following charges that he appointed close relatives to top posts in a state-run PSU.
On account of his return, A.C. Moideen who held the portfolio will be given the Local Self Government portfolio, which was held by K.T. Jaleel.
Jaleel has been given the portfolio of Higher Education and Social Justice, currently held by two different ministers.
After Jayarajan resigned, the vigilance department launched a probe. Last year the court cleared him of all the charges. Since then he and his supporters have been rooting for his return to the ministry.
With Jayarajan returning to the cabinet, all eyes are on if he would deputize for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan when he goes abroad for treatment later this month.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
