If BJP comes to power for third time, country will be in danger: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Kannur (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday warned that if the BJP comes to power for a third time, the country would be in an "insurmountable danger" and there would be no point in regretting it thereafter.
Attacking the BJP-ruled Centre as well as the RSS and Sangh Parivar, Vijayan accused them of trying to destroy the diversity in the country and create a nation based on religion.
The Kerala CM claimed that communal clashes were taking place in the country based on cows, the kind of food that should be consumed and by depicting one group of citizens as enemies of the nation.
He contended that everyone, irrespective of his/her religion, caste or creed, is entitled to equal protection of law, but that is being changed in the country.
All this has created fear and apprehension among minority communities, the CM claimed while speaking at an event in this north Kerala district.
"If the BJP comes to power for a third time, the nation will face an insurmountable danger and there would be no point in expressing regret thereafter.
"The country has realised this fact and public opinion is that this danger has to be avoided. Therefore, a unified front of secular-minded groups and people has been created with the aim to defeat the BJP and ensuring it does not return to power for a third term," the CM said.
He said that the BJP had also realised that a third term may not be possible.
"That realisation has led them to take some dangerous steps as indicated by some recent incidents," the CM said.
Vijayan said the recent raids by various central agencies in four opposition-ruled states in the country "show how the BJP is going to respond to the changing circumstances".
"More such actions can be expected from them, but it would not be sufficient to change or sway the people's mind. The unified front to defeat the BJP is strong and needs to be strengthened further," he said.
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.
Madras HC strikes down TN order limiting maternity leave for third child
Chennai: The Madras High Court has set aside a Tamil Nadu government order restricting maternity leave for a third pregnancy to 12 weeks, holding the move to be contrary to established legal principles.
A division bench comprising Justices R Suresh Kumar and N Senthil Kumar ruled that there was no justification to treat third pregnancies differently from the first two, observing that the physical and medical requirements of childbirth remain the same irrespective of the number of pregnancies, as reported by The News Minute.
According to a report published by Live Law, the court was hearing a petition filed by Shayee Nisha, a staff member of the district judiciary in Villupuram, whose request for maternity leave from February 2026 to February 2027 had been curtailed to three months by authorities citing the March 13, 2026 government order.
Quashing the decision of the Principal District Judge and related directions asking her to resume duty, the bench directed that she be granted maternity leave on par with that provided for earlier pregnancies, allowing up to 365 days.
The court noted that both the Supreme Court of India and earlier rulings of the High Court had consistently held that maternity benefits cannot be denied for a third child. Holding the restriction to be unsustainable, the court directed authorities to process maternity leave applications without discrimination based on the number of pregnancies.
It also pointed out that a similar issue had been addressed by a division bench earlier this year, which had disapproved denial of maternity leave in such cases and directed that its ruling be circulated among judicial officers. Despite this, the state issued the impugned order, the bench observed.
