Former Kerala minister M A Kuttappan no more
Kochi (PTI): Senior Congress leader and former minister M A Kuttappan died at a private hospital here following an illness on Tuesday night, party sources said. He was 76.
Kuttappan is survived by his wife and two children.
A multiple-time MLA, Kuttappan had served as minister for Welfare of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes in the A K Antony ministry in 2001.
During his long political career, he also served as a general secretary and executive committee member of the KPCC, a senate member of the Calicut University, and Railway Recruitment Board member.
Hailing from Mallappally in Pathanamthitta district, Kuttappan was an MBBS graduate and a practising medical doctor.
He quit his medical profession to embark on a career in politics after being attracted to the principles of the Congress.
After joining the party in 1978, he represented Wandoor, Chelakkara and Njarakkal constituencies in the state Assembly during various years.
He withdrew from active politics some years ago due to health reasons, Congress sources added.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan was among those who condoled the senior politician's death.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement
Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.
Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."
Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.
