Kerala withdraws general consent accorded to CBI to probe cases
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala on Wednesday decided to withdraw the general consent accorded to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe cases, joining a list of non-BJP ruled states including Maharashtra to have effected a similar move.
Kerala, ruled by the CPI(M)-led LDF, became the fifth state after Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh to withdraw the general consent accorded to the CBI to exercise its powers under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, an official statement here said.
The lone Left-ruled state in the country took the key decision at a time when the CBI was probing various alleged irregularities in its ambitious Life Mission project, a housing initiative for the poor.
"We have decided to withdraw the general consent given to the CBI, through the notifications under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946," it said.
"The Central agency would be entrusted with the investigation of cases in necessary situations, only with the special permission of the state government," it added.
The consent is akin to a blanket nod for the agency to probe scheduled offenses specified in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DPSE) Act, 1946.
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Hamas accepts cease-fire proposal for Gaza, but Israel's stance still uncertain
Jerusalem, May 6: Hamas announced Monday it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but there was no immediate word from Israel, leaving it uncertain whether a deal had been sealed to bring a halt to the seven-month-long war in Gaza.
It was the first glimmer of hope that a deal might avert further bloodshed. Hours earlier, Israel ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah, signalling that an attack was imminent. The United States and other key allies of Israel oppose an offensive on Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza's population, are sheltering.
An official familiar with Israeli thinking said Israeli officials were examining the proposal, but the plan approved by Hamas was not the framework Israel proposed.
An American official also said the US was still waiting to learn more about the Hamas position and whether it reflected an agreement to what had already been signed off on by Israel and international negotiators or something else. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as a stance was still being formulated.
Details of the proposal have not been released. Touring the region last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had pressed Hamas to take the deal, and Egyptian officials said it called for a cease-fire of multiple stages starting with a limited hostage release and some Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal, they said.
