VS Achuthanandan, former Kerala CM, veteran communist leader, passes away at 101
Thiruvananthapuram: V.S. Achuthanandan, one of India's most respected communist leaders and a towering presence in Kerala politics for over eight decades, passed away on Monday at the age of 101. He had been bedridden in recent years due to prolonged illness.
Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan, popularly known as VS, served as the Chief Minister of Kerala from 2006 to 2011 and remained a central figure in the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPM] for decades. His tenure as Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly spanned 15 years, the longest in the state's history.
Achuthanandan began his political journey in 1939 through the State Congress and trade union activism. He officially joined the Communist Party in 1940 and was instrumental in mobilising coir workers, toddy tappers, and agricultural labourers. His efforts led to the founding of the Travancore Karshaka Thozhilali Union, which later evolved into the Kerala State Karshaka Thozhilali Union (KSKTU).
A Politburo member from 1985 to 2009, he was later moved to the party's Central Committee. VS played a vital role in several landmark struggles, including the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising of 1946, a defining moment in Kerala’s pre-independence labour movement. His life was marked by immense personal sacrifice: he spent over five years in prison and remained underground for nearly four and a half years during periods of intense political repression.
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Niqab incident: Nitish Kumar perhaps revealing his true colours, says J-K CM
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday criticised his Bihar counterpart over the niqab incident and said that Nitish Kumar might be slowly revealing his true nature.
"Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular leader, may be slowly showing his true colours," Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.
Abdullah said Kumar removing the face veil of a Muslim woman doctor was wrong and cannot be justified by any means.
"We have seen this kind of incident here several years ago. Have you forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti removed the burqa of a legitimate voter inside a polling station? That act was wrong, and this act (of Kumar) is also wrong.
"If the (Bihar) chief minister did not want to hand over the order to her (Muslim woman), they could have kept her aside. However, to humiliate her like this is totally wrong," the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
Kumar stirred a huge controversy after he removed the face veil of a Muslim woman at a function earlier this week.
