Kerala CPM leader M V Govindan faces row over meeting with Astrologer
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala CPI(M) state secretary and politburo member M V Govindan has sparked a controversy after a photograph of him with prominent Kannur-based astrologer Madhava Poduval went viral on social media.
The issue reportedly surfaced during the CPI(M) state committee meeting on Thursday, where concerns over leaders secretly consulting astrologers were raised. However, Govindan denied reports of criticism from party colleagues, stating, “There was no such criticism.”
Poduval said he has known Govindan for years and that the visit earlier this year was a personal gesture while he was recovering from surgery, not for astrological advice. He added that he has met several political leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Defending Govindan, senior CPI(M) leader A K Balan said meeting astrologers does not imply acceptance of their beliefs. “We are all staunch advocates of dialectical materialism,” he remarked.
The CPI(M), which champions scientific temper, has previously objected to members seeking astrological guidance. In 2008, former MP A P Abdullakuty faced flak for turning to Nadi astrology, leading to his eventual ouster from the party.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
